#also we can always plot this out with my rick too >:)

[cynthiav06]

Percy's amnesia in SoN gave him the perfect excuse to build his confidence to where it should be and break up with Annabeth, with very few consequences, and I will always stand by that. Annabeth may be easier for the Greeks to back due to her history there, but she has nothing at Camp Jupiter, where he quickly and firmly established himself as a powerful, capable and trustworthy entity, getting promoted to Praetor within a week. I honestly believe that, after his SON quest and the "greeting" Annabeth gave him on their reunion, Percy should've broken up with Annabeth, stayed with Camp Jupiter and thrived there.

Not only would the structure help him long-term in the way it canonically did in the (maybe) three days we saw him spend there, but he has a proper support system without biases in favour of Annabeth. It would also provide a fun narrative contrast to Jason, which RR was trying to push in-story, where they thrive in the other's camp despite the shadow of a figure they kind of feel they have to live up to. Jason does better in the looser structure of CHB due to his having picked up many wolf-ish traits from Lupa, while Percy almost *relaxes* in the strict routine of CJ because it helps with his ADHD symptoms.

And this confidence he very clearly has in SoN, and the way he almost romanticized the possible relationship between him and Annabeth when he didn't have his memories, would lead to a very jarring experience when his memories are settled and he reunites with Annabeth. Because, woah, that was not just a subconscious bias from preferring his new friendships/camp structure, but she actually is like that.

Boom, he now has recontextualised memories and perspective of Annabeth, and a place where she doesn't have a stronger reputation than him, and he can fairly safely break up with Annabeth and escape attempts at retaliation.

He might wait until after the quest the Seven go on, so that he can immediately cut her out of his lfe, but this new perspective changes how he approaches her.

The canon would never, but fortunately for us, there are fic writers. If I get enough time somewhere in this month or next, I might end up writing this, but I will have to see, no promises.

Back to your point; you have covered mostly everything so I don't see what I should be adding to this exact scenario but yes it is one of the few perfect pit stops for a percabeth break up to happen. I am going to go down a slightly different avenue for this one as my thoughts vary a bit from yours, so bear with me. It is going to be long, but I need to recap and clarify a few things for others; I will get to your specific questions near the end. [Everything's numbered, so if you are in a hurry, just scroll to the final four points]

-------------------------------------------------------

The breakup could have been mutual, too, if Rick had written it well. If we follow the proper timeline, Annabeth was still hung up over Luke up until the end of BoTL and had just started to get over him at the start of Last Olympian. Percy had just been informed of the Prophecy and under massive stress between end of BoTL and start of TLO and was obviously arguing with Annabeth over it as she repeatedly got angry at him for reasonably freaking out over his then "assumed death" prophecy. To find some relief from all this, he was dating Rachel, who he really liked, had a kiss with, and overall a good relationship with.

Then the whole plot of the Last Olympian occurs in what can be considered to be a few months at best. Then both Percy and Annabeth get together but to recap the events leading up to this:

Rachel breaks up with Percy despite their good relationship due to understanding the role she needs to play in saving the Oracle.

Luke who had previously visited Annabeth to make her join him and who Annabeth was somewhat hung over still, dies.

The war ended up killing a lot of close friends and companions and was a generally traumatic event for everyone involved.

Percy is very high on mixed emotions, reeling from everything that's happened when he gets together with Annabeth, so neither of them have had any time to process anything that's happened properly enough.

They have their one month anniversary on September 18th[The Staff of Hermes short story], and Percy disappears in October. [Riordan.wiki has years and dates of important events].

So they have barely been together for two months, and Percy's already missing.

This is Annabeth's thought process when they do reunite. It implies she has been doing a bit of thinking about their relationship and might not be as sure about it anymore.

She also seems to heavily dislike Percy's initial idea of settling in New Rome and seems to have no intention of taking a break from quests like Percy does.

She also seems to dismiss Percy's unwillingness to go to NRU after the news of Estelle's birth and the events of CotG.

Those were a few key points of contrast between them both on their future plans. Not small ones either.

Now, back to their reunion and the events following; here are a few things:

She judo flips him in front of the Argo II and almost entirety of Camp Jupiter.

If Annabeth didn't know that Percy had lost the Curse of Achilles then she was judo flipping him on the small of his back where his mortal tether was located ; which she knew about and therefore would have killed him in her anger and hyper emotional state.

If Annabeth did know that he had lost the Curse of Achilles then she was still judo flipping her boyfriend who had been missing for six months after surviving an already very traumatic event where he barely managed to survive and was then put through kidnapping, six months of amnesia, and brainwashing against his will by a goddess and then thrust into an unknown land with enemies on his trail.

Further, she blames Percy for disappearing for all of the things HE suffered through against his will and HAS THE AUDACITY TO MAKE HIM APOLOGIZE FOR IT.

Annabeth says and I quote that she likes keeping Percy on his toes.

She also agrees with Piper that Percy needs to be leashed and controlled.

Then Percy's side gives us a few more concerning tidbits:

Percy repeatedly notes that he is scared of Annabeth or thinks she might hit him

He also says that she often brings up Rachel to make him uncomfortable.

Percy also doesn't feel comfortable confiding in Annabeth about Gabe or past trauma.

He repeatedly feels he isn't good enough for Annabeth, and obviously Annabeth's behavior consciously or subconsciously on her part enables his thought process.

He ends up almost killing himself because Annabeth makes him promise not to use his specific ability despite it being used in self-defense by Percy, which ended up saving them both because she was afraid of Percy's powers.

Yet another thing to point out is that Annabeth's fatal flaw hubris and her abandonment issues feed too much into her behavior, and until that is fixed, nothing can be helped.

Annabeth punched Percy in ttc just because he didn't ask her to dance like she wanted him to. She also gave Percy a very hard time just because he knew another girl (Rachel) and immediately acted controlling and toxically possesive towards Percy over Rachel and Calypso despite her and Percy not being in a relationship at any of those points. In fact, despite her supposed crush on Percy, she defended Luke all the way till Botl, despite his repeated attempts at murdering Percy, and even went as far as to say Percy was unreasonably angry at Luke. She also displayed rude and downright awful behavior when interacting with Rachel; and Rachel, being the better person, handled her with class and grace. This all is not even including her demeaning remarks against Percy's intelligence and condescending behavior.

We can conclude from all this that Percy and Annabeth are not compatible, with different future goals and clashing perspectives and most importantly due to lack of proper communication, terrible misunderstandings, and Annabeth's consistent toxic behavior.

But neither the characters nor the author and not even most of the fandom acknowledge any of these glaring issues, so nothing can be done, but their break up can go several ways:

1.

Percy and Annabeth both break up amicably with Annabeth apologizing and understanding the gravity of her behavior and her mistakes and consistently making up to Percy for all the things she has been doing terribly. This is only possible for pre Tartarus or pre MoA situation.

Annabeth could have had a good arc in overcoming all of her problems while Percy too dealt with his self esteem issues and past trauma and they could have given their relationship a shot again in the future; they are both too young right now.

2.

Percy confronts Annabeth on her behavior and breaks up with her. Things get ugly, and it ends up being horrible for both of them. This is a traumatic situation on both ends, but the reason why this is unlikely is that Annabeth and Percy have a case of trauma bonding, and there's hints of codependency more on Annabeth's end. Which makes Percy mask Annabeth's toxic traits easily and for Annabeth to ignore Percy's devolving mental health and self-esteem issues that she has been enabling unknowingly.

3.

The other likely option is third-party intervention. Sally or Poseidon/Athena or other campers.

I also disagree that the camp half blood would back Annabeth. Percy's their [CHB] unofficial leader and a good friend to all of them plus he is the reason the children of other non-Olympian gods have cabins and get claimed early so he definitely has a higher status than Annabeth does in both camps. Camp Jupiter also does respect Percy more than any other Greek, and he is the only Greek to ever be made Praetor. So in social or reputation terms, Percy's winning.

But I don't think other campers would dare meddle in Percy and Annabeth's business. Maybe the seven would. [Leo and Frank would never. Jason probably doesn't understand the whole situation. Piper’s misguided and would probably feed into Annabeth's behavior, so either Hazel or Reyna? Hazel would definitely help Percy understand, and Percy would totally hear Hazel out. Thalia, hmm, I don't really know what Thalia would do, but I don't think she would blindly back Annabeth. She does seem to care for and respect Percy just as much. Nico isn't touching it with a 20-foot pole, plus I don't think he is over his Percy crush at all, so he's not an unbiased party either. ]

4.

Last option and what probably is the most likely is that things continue as they are and Percy eventually snaps due to endless pressure and his mental health issues and Annabeth can't deal with it and then all their other issues which they have both ignored come spilling out and then it's just a clean break but it's going to be the most excruciating way out and given their luck definitely happening.

[thesoftboiledegg]

When I saw an animatic from "Cryo Mort a Rickver" months ago, I wasn't impressed. I thought the dialogue was corny, the plot was simplistic and the jokes didn't land. The polished cold open that Adult Swim released a few days ago was a little better, but I still had my doubts.

This episode appeared to lean into the issues I've had with the newer seasons: Rick's meaner just because the plot calls for it, the concept wasn't particularly original, and the characters over-explain everything. I mean, does Rick really need to tell us that the countdown timers are moving faster when we can clearly see it on the screen?

I still don't think this episode has the strongest opening (although the dig at sensationalized gore fests masquerading as "true crime podcasts" was pretty funny), but the rest of the storyline proved me wrong. This could've been another story about Rick being an asshole that culminates in a bloodbath. Instead, it had way more heart than I expected--and Rick did, too.

I do think his scheme at the beginning was excessive for someone who's supposed to be changing, but I guess Rick's cruelty at the beginning--deciding to rob the ship and blow everyone up on a whim, yelling and threatening Morty like we're back in season three--was supposed to contrast with his later development. It would've been less effective if he were nicer from the start.

Dr. Wong's clearly had a huge impact on him, because he's starting to get attached to people again. In fact, it took only a couple of days for him to get attached to the strangers who love him.

I'm still wondering what his childhood was like, too. Season two hinted that he has daddy issues, but the writers have never returned to that thread. Did he latch onto Karen and Doug because he's rediscovering his humanity, or were they the loving parents that he always wanted? Maybe time will tell.

Judging by the episode previews, people had already guessed that Rick would end up in a higher social class and Morty would be a laborer. I figured that Rick would become corrupt with wealth, Morty would get sick of being a janitor, and they'd eventually collide. The episode started going in this direction, and then it surprised me by switching to a new angle altogether.

Rick's wealthy parents don't corrupt him. In fact, they end up softening him. I loved watching him start to care for his new parents, show them affection and protect them from danger. He doesn't even try to deny it. "They were nice, so I was nice back!"

And why did Rick really join the space race, anyway? That was his perfect opportunity to grab Morty and bail. Yeah, he lives for excitement, but maybe he was a little worried about Karen and Doug, too?

He also forgot about his earlier threats toward Morty pretty quickly. In fact, he stood there and did nothing while Morty whooped his ass. Maybe he was trying to stay in character, but he could've slipped in a few punches if he really wanted to. The man who once gave his grandson a black eye for defying him is slowly disappearing.

On that note, I loved the hints of Rick and Morty looking out for each other despite their conflicts: Rick getting Karen and Doug to back down after Morty assaults him, Morty yelling "Watch out!" and tugging Rick's robe so that he falls backward before the priest whacks him in the face.

In earlier seasons, Rick would've had something diabolical waiting for Morty at the end to punish him for his defiance. Now? Morty's less of a punching bag and more of an equal partner.

As for the theme, the writers were clearly trying to make a point about capitalism, but the plot moved so quickly that I'm not sure what the ultimate message was supposed to be. Violent uprisings are bad? Money corrupts everybody? Inserting a chip that punishes you for being mean to other people would create an equal society?

You know these people are going to find a way to screw it up, but that's not Rick and Morty's problem. They started trouble, but for once, the chaos wasn't entirely their fault. Morty was just the catalyst for tensions that had probably been building for decades.

In the past, the writers have used episode endings as a reset, but not this time. Rick's still thinking about his fake parents. Sure, it's unlikely that he'll ever mention them again, but they didn't just disappear from his mind as soon as he left the ship.

Morty mentions that he's part of Rick's chosen family, and Rick actually agrees in his backhanded way. Of course, a few seconds later, he decides to rob another cryoship. Did he learn much from their adventure? Probably not, but the audience just learned a lot about him.

[somewhereincairparavel]

I think the reason Rick fumbled with writing Jason's abilities/personality is because he was too focused on Jason existing as Percy's rival to focus on Jason as an individual character. And the funniest thing is, in the end, Jason was not considered satisfactory rival to Percy by the fandom either, which is ironic since that was the whole point of his character.

Rick seemingly screwed up the whole rivalry thing because, though he wanted someone to challenge Percy's power, he didn't want that person (Jason) to be more powerful than Percy or more enjoyable than Percy either, in the fear that the audience might start enjoying Jason more.

When you write a rival, you have to make sure that the rival character has equally powerful personality and strength/abilities compared to the person that they're rivalled with.

But Rick? The way he wrote Jason was like a half done updo. He dumped all the cool power on Percy (like potentially implying that Percy has bloodbending,can control water inside of someone, making sure Percy wins ALMOST every fight (and i mean, almost, there is a very rare time Percy ever loses) while limiting his power with Jason in every way possible, making the stupid brick jokes to make sure Jason always passes out in a fight, the whole "I only get one lighting bolt a day from my father" (it's a dumbass logic too, Jason should've been able to summon that much power of lighting on his own, he does NOT need his dad for that shit c'mon now) like it's an obvious effort to make jason appear weaker. Rick did all of this while lazily trying to shoehorn Jason's achievements in the plot by implying it but not actually showing it, like a "yeah he did this cool shit once ig" which makes it less impressive compared to Percy's achievements, which is something we've actually witnessed firsthand. Rick intentionally never brought up or expanded upon Jason's achievements much. He only emphasized everyone's awe of him being the son of Jupiter, which made it seem like Jason had the 'big three child privilege' where people didn't give a fuck about his efforts but instead his position.

Alright Rick, don't give him power, but atleast give him a personality? Nope he isn't getting that either. Jason had the potential to make DARK jokes about his controlled millitary life in Rome, and explore his past. Like I badly wanted a passage of Jason getting his memories back in fragments, Rick could've added flashbacks of Jason's past in his pov in a way that he gets his memories back. Instead he went "yeah yeah jason got all his memories back, it's all good" like SHOW us that wtf?? sure let's make sure he's as stale as possible to the audience, we can't have anyone liking the underdog over Percy Jackson!

He also made sure that Jason had it super hard in life aswell but never emphasized it or gave him anything good compared to Percy.

Don't get me wrong, percy definitely had it rlly hard, but Atleast Rick made sure Percy had a loving mom and a stepdad, a loving girlfriend and a cute adorable sister that he could play and spend time with, he got to celebrate birthdays with Sally, he got to eat her tasty blue food, and he actually had an ambrosia taste. You mean to tell me that Jason's sister barely had time for him, that he hasn't had a single birthday and that ambrosia tastes like sawdust for him while you give the other members of the seven, delicious ambrosia taste? 😤

Jason Grace has gotten the worst life in his own story, he wasn't "powerful" enough for a child of Zeus, he was "boring" , nobody properly trusted him, he died painfully, he didn't have parents, he barely talked to his sister, he didn't have a childhood, he was abandoned to blood thirsty animals when he was TWO, he didn't have a birthday, he didn't have an ambrosia taste, his girlfriend dumped him, he never got to see his best friend before he died, and he is terribly hated by the fandom who are simply turning a blind eye to his struggles because "no Percy will always be better in every way" yeah. I could go on and on.

[wanderingmind867]

I'm starting to get the sneaking suspicion that Rick Riordan treated the Magnus Chase books like side pieces to the Trials of Apollo. Because this trilogy does not feel nearly as well put together as the Kane Chronicles. The Kane Chronicles was a book with minimal connections to his other books. They work as beautiful standalone pieces of literature. The Magnus Chase books don't. Percy Jackson is in the last book. Annabeth Chase is in all three of them. The books always end with hints to the Trials of Apollo, etc. It paints a bad picture.

Also, the Magnus Chase books feel more haphazardly pieced together. In the Kane Chronicles, every character and plot point made sense. Set was chaotic and evil, but he wasn't the apocalyptic big bad like Apophis. He even helped our heroes. He was multifaceted. Miquel Desjardins was a man who valued traditional values and the old ways, but he still died trying to save the Kanes. This antagonist gave his life to save our protagonists, because he learned the error of his ways. That's beautiful. Sadie Kane can sometimes be abrasive, but she always means well by her brother and her friends and family.

The Magnus Chase books do not have that nuance. Alex Fierro is meant to be likeable, but half of their scenes involve them just teasing Magnus or calling him rude names. They don't show their warm side the way Sadie Kane did, and it makes their scenes feel very uncomfortable sometimes. Also, we don't have any villains like Set in the Magnus Chase books. Loki is just the big bad, without there being anything worse than him. But since Loki behaves almost exactly the same way Set did, you half expect there to be something more going on besides just one god's revenge quest. But there's nothing else. It feels simplistic, in a way that I can't quite say I love.

Also, the Hotel Valhalla is not explained nearly as well as the Egyptian afterlife was. Rick Riordan pretty much said that everyone sees what they want to see after they die. That did lead to a bit of a cruel remark about atheists just losing existence after death, but I can forgive him that one (mostly since his explanation in the Kane Chronicles was the only good afterlife explanation he ever gave). He pretty much talked about how the afterlife is different for everyone. It's personalized based on faith. So that was an explanation I liked. Mostly because it means that i don't have to go to the greek afterlife (which rick riordan always portrayed so horribly).

So, I really am starting to think that Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard was a series Rick Riordan haphazardly put together. Don't get me wrong: I still like it. There are still good scenes and elements. But it feels less cohesive than a lot of his earlier books. And no judgement on Rick. The man pumped out around 20 books in 12 years. That's impressive. It might explain why I find some of his later books slightly worse, too.

But again: this isn't meant to be severely judgemental of Rick. I still like his books. And I definitely like him as a person. Well, in the one way can like a celebrity they don't know very well as a person. He just seems like a nice enough man. I've never meant him, but he seems pleasant. So I mean so disrespect when I criticize his books like this. I just need an opportunity to get everything off of my chest.

[livlocus]

thoughts on jason grace?

omg hey :) sorry this took so long but i love ur blog sm!

i have so many thoughts you have no idea !! im going to have to limit myself or else this will be a giant jason post haha

so these are just my thoughts on how jason’s written and stuff like that, a few headcanons thrown in there (if you want headcanons pls pls pls request them i would love to do some !!)

he is literally my favorite character that rick riordan has made haha

like i read the first few pages of the lost hero and i went “yup this one, this one is my favorite, i choose you”

i’d like to think that at one point jason had an annabeth equivalent at camp jupiter but she died on a quest or something so she wasn’t there when he came back to camp jupiter

like percy had that whole like YES ANNABETH MY WIFE I KNOW WHO I AM NOW moment, like she was his tether to his memories

but jason just had reyna when he came back, and we don’t even know what the extent of their relationship was, like they were praetors together and she seemed very upset when he didn’t recognize her so it’s safe to assume that they were close but how close rick tell us how close they were !!!!

anyways

since jason doesn’t get a lot of his memories back and he’s so emotionally distant from them, it makes me think that to him, reyna really was just a close friend

so yeah i think there was someone really important in jason’s life who died and if they didn’t, and jason saw them when he got back to camp jupiter he would have had like an “aha!” moment and connected himself to his past memories like percy did

ON A HAPPIER NOTE

i 100000% think that piper and leo do like a pop culture marathon with jason when they make a joke about some celebrity and he’s like “literally who is that??”

like they sit him down and make him watch vine compilation videos and like best celebrity moment 2019

like in my head jason has a vague understanding of pop culture but like from w few years ago because everything gets to new rome a few years/months late

they show him a movie his mom was in and he’s just like omg i really don’t know her wow

WHY DID RICK KEEP NERFING JASON DURING THE FIRST FEW MINUTES OF EVERY FIGHT IN HOO

like why is he always knocked unconscious and can’t do anything???

is it because jason would just win too quickly so for plot purposes he had to get knocked out???

it’s also a crime that we never saw jason lose his shit as a kid of the big three outside of when percy and him were possessed

like don’t be a coward rick, give me jason crashing out cause piper or leo got hurt and all of a sudden everyone is like “oh yeah he did kill krios all alone in hand to hand combat, didn’t he?”

CAN WE TALK ABOUT THAT PLEASE???

so at the same time as the battle of manhattan, jason fights krios and KILLS A TITAN all by himself with no weapons???

what does that mean?? with brute strength??? lightening?? did he manipulate air??

like jason is almost a whole year younger than percy, so during the battle of manhattan, when jason is fighting krios, he’s either freshly fifteen or he’s still a fourteen year old boy ???

like hey so that’s crazy wdym that now he’s sixteen in hoo we NEVER get like a jason loosing his shit scene

maybe the legion style training is just so engrained into his brain he’s like, incapable of letting loose like that??

i mean the legion/camp jupiter had to RAISE jason basically from age three and up so imagine having like a six year old boy who is a literally ball of energy who can fly and shoot lighting out of his fingers and has the potential to summon a thunderstorm if he has a tantrum or something

yeah that’s crazy so i’m sure if that ever happened who ever was in charge of him was like “oh so yeah that can’t ever happen again cause you almost hit the centurion with lightening when he told you to stop trying to climb that tree”

I HAVE SO MANY THOUGHTS ABOUT THIS BUT I CANT MAKE THEM SOUND COHERENT RIGHT NOW HELP

spoilers for toa below the cut!!

i’d like to think that after jason dies and lester goes back to being apollo, thalia never gets sunburn again

i also think that jason would not have sacrificed himself for piper if he regained that emotional connection to his memories

like he barely knew who he was still

like i’m not saying he would have just let piper die, but i think it would have been more of a “hey let’s figure this out so neither of us die” kinda thing

but he literally had no emotional connection to who he was for the first fifteen and a half years of his life so he was like “okay i love my friend of course im going to give my life for hers”

enough of that though cause that makes me sad :((

sorry this is kinda just stream of consciousness but this was super fun!! thanks for the ask :))

[violettwrites]

Hi! Just read something you posted a few hours ago, and thing is I'm thinking I'm basically setting myself up for getting disappointed by just sending in this ask—not to say that I'm discrediting you writing- god no— but just the fact that this is a really big undertaking. Whatever, whatever, I'm rambling atp.

Uh I wanted to ask for a DBF!Farmer!Rick x reader fic. Where reader is barely nineteen,— most of this next part doesn't really hold any significance to the plot, but it would be nice to read— long, jet back hair, super dark brown eyes, cinnamon skin, reader also religiously wears sundresses as well as always having a cherry lollipop/popsicle in her mouth. And since her farm doesn't have horses, she decides to ask Rick for horse riding lessons! I don't want you'll do with this but god speed!

(the reference photo, just in case. Te he~)

riding lessons 🗡️ dbf!rick grimes

summary: reader wants to learn to ride horses, and her father’s best friend is the one she turns to.

author’s note: here you go nonnie ! apologies if you were after something different, but i hope you enjoy !

also just a little heads up for my readers, at this moment i don’t really write smut. i’m just not too confident with it at this moment, but as my writing progresses i’m sure it’ll be something i look into in the future. this is not directed at you either, nonnie ! i just never really brought it up and i’ve been meaning to 🫶🏻

warnings: age gap ig???

word count: 970

it was a busy saturday morning, and your father’s farm was alive with people travelling from all over for your father’s sale yard for the year. you were up early ( as per usual ), in your favourite sundress. you had a cherry lollipop in hand as you walked through the yard, looking for the older male you had fancied since you were old enough to understand what crushes were.

“hey, rick!” you called out once you spotted the attractive man, your voice slightly muffled by the cherry lollipop in your mouth. “can i talk to you for a minute?”

rick grimes, your dad’s best friend from high school, turned around to look at you, his forearms leaning against a fence as he watched the cattle being rounded up from the field, ready to be auctioned off. “mornin’, darlin’,” he nodded at you, his words making your heart flutter. he turned around to face you, hands moving to rest on his hips. “what can i do for ya?”

you took a deep breath, trying to steady the nervous excitement. “i was wondering if you could give me some horse riding lessons. i’ve always wanted to learn, but we don’t have any horses on our farm.”

rick’s eyes sparkled with interest, eyeing the way your sundress stopped mid thigh. “well, i’d be more than happy to help with that. the horses we have are gentle, and i’m sure they’d love to have you.”

a surge of relief and excitement washed over you. “really? that would be wonderful! I’ve only ever seen them from the fence,” you sighed, pulling the lollipop from your mouth.

“how about this afternoon? you come on over and i’ll show you the ropes.” he raised his eyebrow, his gaze lingered on you for a moment longer. “and who knows, maybe i’ll learn a thing or to on how you ride.” he smirked, making your heart jump.

you nodded quickly. “that would be amazing, thank you. i really appreciate it.” you grinned, lollipop going back into your mouth as you turned around, quickly making your way back to the house.

— — —

a few hours later, you made the trip to rick’s farm, eager. you were stood next to comet, a beautiful chestnut mare. rick had helped you through the basics of grooming and saddling, and now he was standing besides you, hand on your lower back as he explained the basics of mounting a horse.

“alright, ready to jump on?” he asked, moving to grab the rein as he looked at you. you nodded your head, moving to put your foot through the stirrup like rick had explained, pulling yourself onto the horse. you could feel rick’s free hand on the back of your thigh, steadying you.

once you were comfortably sat in the saddle, you looked down at him, his lips holding an encouraging smile. “look at you, you’re a natural already.” he chuckled, patting your thigh as he moved towards the front of comet, ready to lead her.

“alright, let’s do this.” you grinned down at him, feeling comfortable. rick nodded, clicking his tongue to get comet moving slowly and steadily.

“just relax and let comet guide you, okay? i’ve got you, but she’s a good horse. carl first learnt to ride on this old girl.” he hummed, smiling at you. “if you need anything, just let me know.”

rick walked alongside comet, offering pointers and encouragement. his gaze was appreciative, and you could feel the warmth of his eyes as he looked at you. “you’re doing great, darlin’,” he said, a playful grin on his face. “you know, i might start thinking about taking lessons from you if you keep this up.”

you laughed, a blush on your cheeks at the warmth of his words. “i’m glad you think so. i’ve always admired how you handle the horses. you make it look so easy.”

rick’s smile widened. “well, I’ve got to say, seeing you out here in that dress, it’s a pretty nice change of pace. makes me wish every day was a lesson with you.”

the flirtatious remark made your heart skip a beat. you tried to focus on guiding comet, but your thoughts kept drifting back to rick’s teasing comments. as you trotted around the paddock, the sun warm on your back, you caught glimpses of rick watching you with a twinkle in his eye.

by the end of the lesson, you were glowing with pride. rick patted comet affectionately, bringing her to a stop. he turned to you, his eyes soft and warm. “you’ve done real well today. keep practicing, and you might just become the best rider around here.”

you looked down at him, your heart full of joy. “thank you, rick. this has been amazing.”

rick tipped his hat with a grin, his eyes meeting yours in a way that made your stomach flutter. “anytime. i’m always here if you want more lessons. and who knows, maybe next time we’ll make it a little more... interesting.”

you blushed once again at his words, moving to get off comet, rick’s hands coming to your hips to help you down, the warmth of his hands on your skin made your stomach fill with butterflies.

once you had left the paddock with rick, the older male walking you back to your car, you offered him a smile before leaning in to press a kiss to his cheek. you noticed his cheeks turn a light shade of pink as he opened your car door for you, smiling down at you as you slipped into your car.

“i’ll see you later, darlin’. i look forward to our little lessons.” he chuckled, closing the door for you, waving as you drove away. you couldn’t help but think of him on your drive home, excited for your future lessons together.

[whateverisbeautiful]

♥️Reveling in Richonne - TOWL

#43: The Good Life (1.05)

gif cred: @nerd4music

The vibes of this whole sequence are so good. The good life truly. 🤩And Say Yes has always been a comfort ep for me, so I love that this montage has such Say Yes energy and parallels. If ever I need a pick-me-up this tranquil series of clips from Richonne's road-trip home will lift my spirits every time. I love the way this montage depicts that in finding each other again, Richonne refound the best, most at peace parts of themselves 😌...

So after that teaser with Father Gabriel, we get our babies back on screen. And it hit me that Episode 5 is the first time there are even scenes that don't feature Rick and Michonne. In episodes 1-4 of TOWL, Rick, Michonne, or both are on screen in every single scene apart from that one episode 2 teaser. Which I was very much in support of this as a long-time card-carrying member of the Give-Richonne-More-Screentime ministry. 😊

After how excellent the plot, pacing, and dialogue were in episode 4, I will say that ep 5 & 6 are a bit clunkier in those areas to me. But one thing is for sure, the Richonne content in ep 5 & 6 is still solid gold.

While these last two eps are ranked lower than episodes 1-4 for me, the good moments in these last two episodes aren't just good, they're great and include some genuinely Top 10 worthy Richonne scenes. So we definitely have to break it all down.😇👌🏽

gif cred: @andy-clutterbuck

The montage starts with that yellow truck turning the corner and then they just get right into the good vibes and romance as we see Richonne calmly driving.

I love that they use 'The Good Life' by Tony Bennett to set the mood. Rick and Michonne both just look so relaxed and happy and it’s super refreshing to see. 🥰

gif cred: @msanonships

After everything they’d gone through thus far it was so nice to arrive at a point where Rick and Michonne are back in sync and as connected as ever.

I love the way Rick seems so content and peaceful with his hand out the window. Michonne has that man feeling on top of the world again. 😋 And then it’s so sweet the way he looks over at Michonne and the way she smiles back at him while driving. All is well with their soul and mine. 😌

Then we get one of my favorite Richonne actions ever when Rick takes her hand and kisses it. 🥹 It’s perfect.

I love the lingering depth of this hand kiss and that it’s such an illustration of how much Rick loves and cherishes Michonne. It was another soul kiss. And you can just tell how much peace Michonne brings Rick. She’s like his medicine. The cure to his anxiety and to his life. 👌🏽

gif cred: @msanonships

Something I so appreciate about Richonne is how every moment like this feels like such an organic outpouring of love in their hearts. And it feels like it’s the exact thing they both needed. Like Rick is offering Michonne so much love with this hand kiss but you can tell it’s also for him too, because she brings him so much peace and happiness and calms any anxiety he might have about really being able to break away from the CRM this time and go home.

This might be the furthest Rick has got in terms of actually breaking free from the CRM and heading home. I know he knows it has everything to do with Michonne that they’re making it this far and actually going to get home this time because they can do anything together.

I appreciate how this hand kiss is just one of the many ways Rick’s romantic heart so naturally wants to show his love and that Michonne is so receptive to it. Like the way she looks at him while he kisses her hand. They really know how to make the love they have for each other leap off the screen. And I know she knows that her Rick is fully back by him doing this.

The song lyrics that play say “don’t try to fake romance” and truly this is just giving authentic romance. Richonne's hand kisses in Say Yes were always so incredibly sweet to me so I love that we have another precious one to add to the list.

I also love that now that Rick isn’t trying to shut Michonne out, he’s immediately back to loving on her every second. This is how Rick loves.

I appreciate that Rick and Michonne immediately started living out that sentiment to love on each other as hard as they can while they can. Loving on each other is what they're both so good at doing. And the way they love is beautiful. 🥹

gif cred: @coalfires

So then they pull up and find all those ramen packs because the universe loves them some Richonnne. And y’all, I adore that they are matching again. 😊 It’s another signature Richonne thing. And it's great how they aren’t just matching in the same general color - no they're basically both wearing the exact Pantone shade, honey. The best. 😋

gif cred: @ricksmarlene

And Rick and Michonne are just at their all-time adorable when the noodles fall out of the trunk and they excitedly laugh and pick them up. Michonne looks like such a cutie when she holds up a pack and amusedly addresses their punny name “Tasteful Noods.”

gif cred: @perryabbott

And Rick looks like such a cutie laughing and just seeming happy to be there. I love that they always bring out such a smiley playful side of each other. 😊

gif cred: @andy-clutterbuck

Another thing I love about TOWL whenever I think about it is how Rick and Michonne's journey of refinding each other was never rooted in questioning if they're still compatible as a couple. After nearly a decade spent apart, some characters who aren't soulmates could have easily changed too much and been unable to rekindle this type of comfortable passionate chemistry so quickly.

But while Richonne had to navigate the way their circumstances had impacted and altered them, they still always operated like they knew the other was their person and the love of their life. And now that they've risen from their ep 4 timeout stronger, they're so effortlessly back to being best friends & lovers.

That's part of why I love how passionately Richonne kisses in their episode 2 reunion scene because they didn't have to hesitate, wait, or wonder how the other felt about them after all these years. Without even needing to verbally confirm it, they immediately knew the love, chemistry, and connection they have was alive and as strong as ever.

But back to this heavenly episode 5 montage - We get a sweet moment of the two having dinner together and I’m just smiling from ear to ear yet again. 😁

I love how this montage moment really highlights how far Rick and Michonne have come in their journey since that season 4 moment beside a fire.

Also, in the TWD series finale when Rick and Michonne were both writing letters alone by a fire, I remember just feeling like I cannot wait for them to be side by side again and it was lovely to see that time finally come. 🙌🏽

During this dinner in front of the mural, they’re both looking out at something but I can never tell what exactly. And then Rick puts his arm around Michonne and I love that he looks over at her first, watching her taking in whatever they’re seeing like maybe another mural/painting or something idk. Either way, Michonne is clearly the true view to Rick. 🥰

gif cred: @ricksmarlene

And then Michonne turns to him with the sweetest smile as they share a kiss and I just love how warm this whole moment is. It's great how they take a moment to just smile at each other before having yet another kiss infused with passion. And the way they get lost in this kiss - equally addicted to each other. 😊 They’re so blissfully in their Richonne bubble and it’s great to see. 

gif cred: @lousolversons

As they drive along the scenic road they also come across a vending machine and I love how their movement is so synchronized as they look from the vending machine to a walker with a sword stuck in its neck. See how the universe always wants to provide the things Richonne needs? 😋

Also, what this episode really hammered home is that Richonne communicates with words pretty much for fun, because they’re entirely capable of having whole conversations by just looking at each other.

And in this moment they both immediately get the same idea at the same exact time to use the blade in that walker to hack through the vines covering the vending machine. And they’re so cute and determined as they go to take care of it.

Clearing out the vending machine was clearly a success as they cut to Richonne back in the car while Rick chugs a soda. And even the soda moment shows that he’s really released a lot of the stress he was carrying in the first four episodes and just seems so at home. And of course he seems at home because his home is right next to him looking beautiful while driving. 👌🏽

gif cred: @andy-clutterbuck

Also, you always know you’re truly comfortable with someone when even just sitting in silence together brings you peace and I felt that from them in these car clips.

Then this heavenly montage wants to make me teary by having Rick take out the phone with the image of Carl and just take a moment to appreciate it. Again, Rick loves his son so much. 🥲 I'll forever be moved by the love this father has for his boy.

It's heartwarming that Rick gets so much comfort from these images of his family. And it really is one of the greatest things Michonne’s ever done for him by giving him this drawing that brought his son's face back to him.

gif cred: @taiturner

I love that Michonne looks over at him and gets to again see how meaningful having this piece of Carl is for Rick. The way she looks from the phone to him, both those Grimes boys forever have her heart. 🥹

(And she knows soon Rick will get to meet the third Grimes boy, RJ. 🥲)

I think about the OG Richonne episode Clear when Michonne was behind the wheel as Rick sat silently beside her with a hand out the window. Now, years later they do the same, no longer strangers but soulmates.

The biggest difference between the two moments is Carl is right there with them in the back of the car in Clear, and now in TOWL he's with them through a phone portrait. 🥺

Carl would be so proud of Rick and Michonne for finding their way back to each other and finally going home together. 🥲

Also just looking at Rick and Michonne in this car heading home, y’all, we really made it. 😭 All those years without them and we really made it to a point where Rick and Michonne are back on a road trip home together and at peace. And so I just adore this whole opening sequence for perfectly painting the picture of their travels home and how in love they are at every turn.

gif cred: @ricksmarlene

Rick and Michonne looked so refreshed with vacation vibes as they finally got to just enjoy each other without the threat of the CRM nearby. Beyond here for it. 😇

Then, as they drive they come across a souvenir shop...and it’s there we get another one of my absolute favorite TOWL scenes. 👌🏽😌

[etclouie-navigation]

𝐄𝐓𝐂𝐋𝐎𝐔𝐈𝐄'𝐒 𝐎𝐍𝐄 𝐘𝐄𝐀𝐑 𝐀𝐍𝐍𝐈𝐕𝐄𝐑𝐒𝐀𝐑𝐘 𝐖𝐈𝐏𝐒

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one year anniversary picnic is live until july 1st, all requests are welcome but please read the event info post!!! requests open to everyone on my masterlist, come celebrate!

⋆˚✿˖° — wips per fandom; (in masterlist order)

TWD

rick grimes ⤷ that was far too long to be apart from you. and 40. they told me you were searching for me. with rick grimes pretty please lovely

daryl dixon ⤷ hey can i get daryl dixon and this prompt from the reuniting lovers list “you are the most beautiful sight i have ever seen” ⤷ another daryl request i couldn't help it ¹²⁰⁾ “i’m- *achoo* a-allergic to one kind of- *achoo* of flowers in the whole world, and you- *cough* really m-manage to pick them out for me?” ⤷ Hi angel! Congrats on your one year 🫶🏻 🌷 — build a fic. choose between building either a sfw fic or an nsfw fic along with a character and i'll write something for it nsfw ꒰ 9 ꒱ ꒰ I ꒱ ꒰ 𓃗 ꒱ with Daryl Dixon plz Okay that's it love you bye 🖤 ⤷ Happy anniversary! could I do build a NSFW fic 3-I- 𓃰 for Daryl Dixon <333 ⤷ 82 with daryl

negan smith ⤷ with negan and ²⁴⁷⁾ “how dare you say something like that to me!” ⤷ happy one year!!! could you please do negan with the 300 prompts ²⁸⁾ “neither of us are leaving this room until you tell me how you got that shiner.” ⤷ Could i also please slide another negan one in here and ask for the build a fic for 7, L & 𓆗 pretty please ⤷ hey can i build a sfw fic with negan? ꒰ 4 ꒱ “you know how much i care about you.” ꒰ M ꒱ distrust and ꒰ 𓅫 ꒱ the bedside of someone who doesn’t want you there 

shane walsh ⤷ can i build an nsfw fic with shane walsh 4, E, 𓃗 ⤷ i'm sorry for all the requests just really loving your event. with shane walsh can i have 11. for lazy morning sex

abraham ford ⤷ abraham and 8. kiss me again.     please

glenn rhee ⤷ sfw glenn + 14 S 𓆗

rosita espinosa ⤷ hey can i get Rosita with nsfw 6 i 𓃗

merle dixon ⤷ last request!!!!!!! for merle dixon can i get this prompt from the morning after list? “ there’s no way i can hide these marks... ” want to apologise for lal the requests but thsank you

COD

john price ⤷ heyo . for your event can i get cod price and the below prompt from the morning after starts“ i don’t think my legs work again yet. ”

simon riley ⤷ simon aus reacting to her having a hand kink/thinking his hands are hot

soap mactavish ⤷ got a couple cod au reacts for ya 1/2 calling them by their ranks ⤷ kiss me awhile and soap mactavish ⤷ Happy One Year!!!!!!!!!! Humbly requesting Johnny MacTavish with NSFW build-a-fic: 1. Lotus C. Hand column 🕊️ Fireplace. 💖

captain mactavish ⤷ can i get prompt 77. from the 300 list with captain Mactavish please

gaz garrick ⤷ nothing!!

phillip graves ⤷ nothing!!

poly!141 ⤷ nothing!!

poly!ghoap ⤷ nothing!!

CRIMINAL MINDS

aaron hotchner ⤷ could i get dbf!hotch and 68 or whatever the number of the prompt that’s like “i’ll call you when i land” ⤷ “this can’t happen again” + dads best friend hotch ⤷ aaron hotchner and morning afters “ if we do this again you better buy me dinner first. ” ⤷ Happy one year blog-iversary! I wanted to request a build-your-own-NSFW fic for Aaron Hotcher, with lotus position, wiping away tears of pleasure, and in a motel room? Thank you ! ⤷ For Hotch criminal minds - this was probably a mistake.  ” “  this can’t happen again.  ” i gotta go, sorry.  ”

derek morgan ⤷  hey can i request derek morgan and bau!reader with this prompt “ why are you looking at me like that? ” ⤷  derek morgan x bau!reader please!! with prompts “if we do this again you better buy me dinner first” and " you always say that, and yet we wind up right back here. idk what happened to the formatting, hopefully this makes sense lol

spencer reid ⤷ nothing!!

luke alvez ⤷ let’s build a safe for work fic with Luke Alvez! with 6, Q and 𓃔 ⤷ prompts 131 and 132 with luke alvez from the 300 dialogues please, i don’t really have a plot idea for this lol so do what u think is best bc i love ur writing and trust you’ll do it justice 😛🙏🏼 ⤷ nsfw build a fic with luke alvez!! positions 2 and 3, actions a & i, and in the motel room please ⤷ “if you so much as look in their direction again, it will be the last thing you ever do.” with luke alvez pretty please 🫶🏼

emily prentiss ⤷ little Emily Prentiss request love, ‘let me get a good look at you’ after she comes back from teh dead? ⤷ I am loving your build a nsfw fic can you do 3,4 E F and 𓃗 with Emily Prentiss

elle greenaway ⤷ nothing!!

SOA

jax teller ⤷ "can i get 19 with jax teller for your event and maybe some nsfw if you know what i mean" ⤷ action two with jax please ⤷ Jax Teller -   i thought you left.  ” “  do you want me to go?  ” ⤷ Jax Teller- normally i can get behind your stress baking because of how much i benefit from it, but come on. it’s two in the night; what is a red velvet cake going to fix that some sleep won’t?” ⤷ Ok ok ok. First of all you know it’s gonna be for Jax cause…duh ☺️Can I request a build a fic, NSFW (of course, slutty & smutty you know me) Position: Doggy An action: covering their mouth to quiten them A setting: A bar bathroom (or clubhouse bathroom 😉) Thank you!!!! Love you can’t wait to see what you write!! 🫢🖤🫶🏽 ⤷ 🪷reuniting lovers!!!! Jax of course 😉 “[name]? is that really you?” Gimme all the ANGST U GOT - Thank ya love ya 🫶🏽🥹🫣🖤

chibs telford ⤷ "i love the reacts ideas! could i request chibs au’s reacting to reader stopping by the clubhouse bruised or with a black eye or something? " ⤷ hiiii congrats on one year!! can i request the prompt “  there’s no way i can hide these marks...  ” with chibs telford please <3 ⤷ HAPPY 1 YEAR ANNIVERSARY 😘💕💕🥰🎊🎊🎊🎊🎊 I was wondering if I could get a Sugar Daddy Chibs fic !! Where hes picking up reader (who is also very shy and innocent and still trying to be independent fkr herself🥹😫💕)for a lunch date and shes still getting ready and her house phone rings and he answers it.... with prompts 38, 14, and 12 that definitely ends smutty as smutty can get 😍😍😍😏😏😏🥵🥵🥵 ⤷ 54 - i figured we were close, i just didn’t think it was “call me at two in the morning from a police station” kind of close. With Chibs please 🙏 ⤷ 143- “ever considered sending me flowers without a keycard for a hotel room tucked inside?” Chibs please ⤷ prompt for Chibs SOA - missed the taste of your kiss. ⤷ Chibs Prompts please with the following fuck! i’m late—  come on, come back to bed.  for one muse to distract the other from getting ready by kissing/groping them ⤷ For Chibs please with the following i know you’re awake prompt and the action - no. 11 for lazy morning sex  ⤷ Happy one year!! Love your writing!! Could i please request the following for Chibs from Sons - you talk in your sleep, ya know along with you look cute all frazzled like this.  Thank you in advance I look forward to reading your work. ⤷ Chibs request- be with me tonight along with kiss me a while. ⤷ Chibs request please - you always say that, and yet we wind up right back here.  ⤷ Chibs Telford Prompts - if you don’t turn that alarm off i’m gonna throw it out the window.  ”Action - for our muses to go another round in the morning ⤷ Chibs Telford- you’re gonna break an ankle walking in those heels with i think i fucked up my ankle last night. ⤷ Prompts for Chibs SOA you are a grown man, don’t pout - i think i pulled something - bit kinky for a monday morning, don’t you think?” ⤷ Action For lazy morning sex along with the prompts of don’t think my legs work again yet and you know, if you moved in we wouldn’t keep having to say goodbye like this.  For Chibs please. ⤷ Chibs - can’t find my shirt with come on, come back to bed.  ⤷ Chibs sitting in the garden with his son - prompts -mama will be home soon, promise. - good boy! Hes drinking a jameson juice box whilst his son has apple. ⤷ Chibs and his gf/fwb have a little fun as she plays dress up - prompt - license and insurance, please. ⤷ Chibs Telford- “is- is that tig’s shirt?” - oh, kill me now - you’re getting so grey. i’m kind of liking it. ⤷ Chibs “i’m so mad at you for this, but i’m angrier at myself for knowing i’ll forgive you for it.” - please, if the choice is between ice cream for breakfast or whiskey, choose the fucking ice cream.” And got fired yesterday.” ⤷ Chibs please - when the shooting starts, stay down and only look at me, okay?” with where is that blood coming from? ⤷ Chibs - “i have a name, and it’s sure as hell not kid with i’ll kick this fucking door open and “i can’t do this anymore.” leads to some hot Chibby time ⤷ Prompt for Chibs please- neither of us are leaving this room until you tell me how you got that shiner with please, please just leave me alone. Thank you. ⤷ Filip "Chibs" Telford - not another broken bed frame along with  put some pants on. and christ, get up. ⤷ Request for Chibs please. you’re still bleeding- stop and let me look at it.” “we’ve been broken up for a year now. you’ve got no right to look at me like that.” ⤷ For the fantastic Chibs - come to my room in ten with your lipstick’s all over me! ⤷ Chibs Telford- your mother called - with you’ve done shitty things to me before but you’ve never been cruel. ⤷ Chibs request - please could I have the following action - for our muses to go another round in the morning Then the use of the following prompt lines - can’t find my shirt and you look cute all frazzled like this. 

more chibs telford ⤷ Chibs - last night was nice His response to the word nice is funny and bit offended like nice? Nice is only what i get. Along with so if i put my number in your phone, you actually gonna text me? ⤷ Chibs - the dog, for all his failings, did not do that and i’m taking it personally on his part that you’re trying to claim he did.” ⤷ Chibs -go shower, then we’ll talk.” and did you use my body wash? ⤷ Chibs. How his girlfriend/wife announces shes pregnant- table for three, please. ⤷ Chibs girl is feeling down and struggling so he decides to cheer her up by putting on one of her fav chick flicks and of course its a Wednesday when they watch it 😉 with the prompt don’t think i’ve ever seen you in pink before.” ⤷ For chibs. Prompt - come on, the water’s fine! With nice tan lines.” ⤷ For Chibs please - let me take this opportunity to remind you how deeply i love you. ⤷ For Chibs - missed the taste of your kiss. ⤷ Chibs prompt from the 300 dialogue list- where the fuck have you been?!” ibuprofen and a red bull is not breakfast.” say that again, but take all the words bigger than two syllables out for me. Idea - His old lady returns home after a wild day/night with Venus and some of friends drinking. ⤷ Chib Telford prompt - you left this at mine with how do you remember where all my jewellery goes? And you kept it.” ⤷ Hi could i request a Chibs Telford prompt - He visits his ex to see his son ( his dog) please with the following - I want to see my son with - the dog got ahold of your scarf and the dog, for all his failings, did not do that and i’m taking it personally on his part that you’re trying to claim he did.” Bit random but I think it could work lol ⤷ Hi a request for Chibs Telford please from the reuniting prompt list. we're going to need a lot of time to catch up. quick, while no one's looking - let's find a place where we can be alone. ⤷ Congratulations 🎊 Could I please request for Filip "Chibs" Telford- you're a sight for sore eyes ⤷ I was wondering if I could get a super sad but happy ending of chibs and reader from the reuniting love prompts with " [name] is that really you" obviously use chibs name and "never leave me again" bc reader maybe tries to commit after things in the club get too messy and chibs leaves her and breaks up with her but she never knew why and she ends up in the hospital bc the attempt and hes still her emergency contact 🥹😭😭😭

juice ortiz ⤷ can i get 228 and 251 with juicey please ⤷ Something for Juice please - morning, killer - so you had a can of monster and a pack of sour patch kids for breakfast eight hours ago, and you really don’t understand why you have a headache?” ⤷ Juice - just hold the ladder, and i’ll do the rest helping one of the sons and then gets distracted by his crush/fwb -nicked your shirt on my way out- i hope you don’t mind. ⤷ Juice prompt request - can you remember anything about last night? With i think we kissed. And wanna come to vegas with me?” ⤷ Hi a request for Juice please with Do i smell bacon?  ” “  you made pancakes?  ” made breakfast. Action breakfast in bed.

tig trager ⤷ 151- Can totally picture Tig saying this- that thong really brings out your eyes. ⤷ For tig please in one fic. Numbers are ²⁵⁴⁾ “i don’t care if we both get hypothermia, i’m not sharing a sleeping bag with you!” ²⁵⁹⁾ “you are a grown man, don’t pout.” Along with " put some pants on.” Thank you. ⤷ Little love for Tig SOA please - don’t even want to know how the glitter got there and nice tan lines. ⤷ Hello Lovely have a little request for your anniversary please. - Its for Tig - i’ve been waiting for this my whole life.” can i help with your hair?” Tig doing the hair. Thanks ☺️ ⤷ Tig please - no, this is her secretary. i can take a message, if you’d like? - jealous Tig ⤷ Request for Tig- they were saying awful things about you. every last one of them had it coming. With fuck all of them, anyway.” ⤷ Prompt for Tig - you’re still bleeding- stop and let me look at it. His version is calling Chibs to look at it with the cat misses you. But she doesn't have a cat 😉

opie winston ⤷ nothing!!

happy lowman ⤷ i need you to promise me we'll never be apart ever again. and post jail!happy like season 4 when the club gets out

MARAUDERS

sirius black ⤷ "41 and sirius black please"

james potter ⤷ "prompt 17 with james potter please" ⤷ for the reacts can i have being snowed in with james potter au’s? ⤷ ⁴⁹⁾ “mama will be home soon, promise.” with james potter pleaseplease 🩷

remus lupin ⤷ remus and reader who broke up but got back together because their friends hated how grumpy they each got?like maybe morning after he spends the night at hers grumpy because “that’s still how you take your tea, isn’t it?” lol ⤷ Build a fic please, with Remus - spooning, wrapping a hand around the column of their throat, a fireplace-lit living room ⤷ How would remus lupins AUs react to accidentally getting reader pregnant?

poly!marauders ⤷ poly!marauders (my lovers) with ²⁴⁵⁾ “… did you use my body wash?” but it’s james and sirius bickering lol

poly!wolfstar ⤷ may i perhaps request poly!wolf star with sirius getting distracted by reader while cooking and he ends up burning something? which remus notices “where’s that smoke coming from?”

poly!moonchaser ⤷ ooh super excited to see you writing poly!moonchaser!!! (when did that happen btw?) anyways can i get this prompt with them 😼 “next door’s cat is back. do you remember where i put the kibble?”

poly!prongsfoot ⤷ nothing!!

HP/SLYTHERIN BOYS

harry potter ⤷ nothing!!

ron weasley ⤷ drummer!ron and this prompt “i don’t wanna get up” the morning after a gig😼 ⤷ Hi!!! Could I request Ron Weasley with Dialogue Prompts 137, 151 and 148? 🙊🙈

fred weasley ⤷ ex boyfriend fred with reader who still sleep together, “you always say that, and yet we wind up right back here”. i know she loves to hate him, but loves being in his bedadmit she loves being in his 

george weasley ⤷ post war george and this prompt “i phoned in sick. i’m yours for the day, if you’ll have me.” 

draco malfoy ⤷ lol i know your inbox hates to see me coming. draco req!! at a slytherin party they kiss but the next day there’s tension and giggles from readers friends every time they interact, “i think we kissed.”

blaise zabini ⤷ blaisey boo with “that was the best meal i’ve eaten in years.” but he’s just a munch😽 mister pussy eater himself 

mattheo riddle ⤷ almost done with my requests, i promise! though could i get “you weren’t there when i woke up” with boyfriend mattheo who steps out for a smoke while reader sleeps off the post orgasm high ⤷ can i build a sfw fic with apocalypse leader !mattheo with the options 3DQS 𓆗 ⤷ hii, hope all is going good. i have request for your year event !! i was wondering if you would want to do a brothersbsf!mattheo riddle nsfw build a fic with 3,G,elephant please 🙏

theodore nott ⤷ mechanic!theo and cutesy girlfriend bringing his lunch to the garage ²⁰⁸⁾ “… did you make me a packed lunch?”

lorenzo berkshire ⤷ enzo with “my sheets smell like you” after a long night of loving 

tom riddle ⤷ final request!!! “i’m scared of the things i feel for you.” with tom riddle, mr stoicstoicism himself

NCIS

tony dinozzo ⤷ "hey! happy one year that’s super cool. i had a request for Tony DiNozzo! reader and Tony have been seeing each other for a little and after a date one night he tries to invite himself into her place but she doesn’t let him because she has a son she hasn’t told him about but before she can make Tony leave her son comes running up to her. really based on this prompt “you have a son?!” but whatever you feel like " ⤷ could i request tony dinozzo and the prompt  “ so if i put my number in your phone, you actually gonna text me?” from the morningg after prompt list

tim mcgee ⤷ nothing!!

gibbs ⤷ hey sugar! can i request gibbs with the prompt “i think there’s someone in the house” but they had just gotbough a dog and that’s what the noise is

SVU

elliot stabler ⤷ “i like having you here at night” + elliot 

nick amaro ⤷ "nsfw 2 C 𓆉 and Nick Amaro"

rafael barba ⤷ detective reader x barba and action prompt15 after some drinks

sonny carisi ⤷ nothing!!

MARVEL

frank castle ⤷ nothing!!

tony stark ⤷ tony stark and “i thought you left”

logan howlett ⤷ nothing!!

wade wilson ⤷ “i’m scared of the things i feel for you.” With premutated bff!Wade Wilson please!! Bonus points if readers a sweetheart who’s know Wade for a long time ^^

poly!poolverine ⤷ ⁷⁾ “look, all i’m trying to tell you i- oh god, no, please don’t cry.” and poly poolverine 

THE BEAR

carmen berzatto ⤷ nothing!!

michael berzatto ⤷ hey can i request michael berzatto and this prompt - “no don’t move, it’s too cold outside the covers.”

richie jerimovich ⤷ "may i have prompt 134 with richie jerimovich please and thank you '

SHAMELESS

carl gallagher ⤷ nothing!!

lip gallagher ⤷ 275). with lip gallagher please 

fiona gallagher ⤷ nothing!!

kev ball ⤷ “i thought you left” and action 11 with kev ball pretty please …

SCREAM

billy loomis ⤷ lazy morning sex with billy loomis!!! (morning after startsers)

stu macher ⤷ hey! can i get stu macher and “this can’t happen again” ? 

randy meeks ⤷ 208 with randy? seen you haven’t wrote for him yet so if not it’s fine

MISC

javier pena ⤷ action 7 i sodo javier peña! i don’t knowidk why no one has said that one yet?

steve murphy ⤷ post sex cuddles with steve murphy and reader says it?      “ so when are we gonna actually go on a real date? ”

oscar diaz ⤷ maybe “this was probably a mistake” with spooky from on my blockomb please??

cesar diaz ⤷ 194) and cesar díaz please love

rafe cameron ⤷ nothing!!

jj maybank ⤷ nothing!!

tim laflour ⤷ pretty boy tim laflour and prompt 66. after a late night practice

stevo levy ⤷    excited to see more Matthew Lillard characters! can i request Stevo and prompt “ i like waking up with you” from the morning after list?

dennis rafkin ⤷ nothing!!

rio ⤷ “  no don’t move, it’s too cold outside the covers” with Rio, maybe some morning sex too?

joel miller ⤷ action 9 and prompt “  i like waking up with you” with Joel Miller prettiest of pleases love! 

➜ ┊: leaf divider by @strangergraphics ᵎ ✰

© 2025 etclouie. I do not condone reposting, plagiarising or translating my work in any form. my blog is 18+, strictly no minors !!

[poppitron360]

After responding to @puzzled-pegasus’ ask about my lighthearted Leo hcs, I came up with a WHOLE BUNCH MORE so buckle up (these are mostly Valgrace)

1. Okay so I recently did a rewatch of all six Tinkerbell movies for this project I’m working on and for no other reason not just because they’re awesome and I KNOW FOR A FACT that Leo loves those movies (they’re a beloved classic in Cabin 9). The plot of the first movie is LITERALLY JUST “Hey making things is really cool and you don’t always need flashy nature powers to be useful and you should be proud of your gifts!!’ (The Tinker fairies are literally just Hephaestus kids with a green colour palette).

2. “Tinkerbell” is one of Jason’s nicknames for Leo. Leo pretends to hate it but he secretly loves it.

3. Jason started noticing that whenever Leo steals his hoodies the tags at the back always end up mysteriously being cut off. Leo hates them bc of sensory issues. Now, whenever Jason buys a hoodie, the first thing he does is cut the tag off so that Leo can wear it, too.

4. Leo once collected all the tags that he cut off his clothing and sewed them together to make a plushie and gave it to Jason to say thank you.

5. Gift-making is Leo’s love language. Jason’s love language is showing off those gifts.

6. “How to Train Your Dragon” is also one of Leo’s favourites, and he likes to curl up with Festus in Bunker 9 and watch all three movies plus the spin-off shows.

7. He references Vines CONSTANTLY. So does Piper. They like to watch compilations on YouTube and quote along to them. Jason is SO CONFUSED when they quote them out in public.

He’s just like “Why did you yell “LOOK AT ALL THOSE CHICKENS!!” When we passed by that field of geese earlier?”

And they respond with, in perfect unison- “Wouldn’t you like to know, Weather Boy?”

8. I feel like he’d be the typa guy who’s memorised the entire Bee Movie Script.

9. His favourite musical is “In The Heights” bc he knows all the Spanish and he also relates to Usnavi on a SPIRITUAL LEVEL.

10. One time he was a little too overenthusiastic doing the HOT TO GO dance and accidentally wacked Reyna in the face. They found her in the process of trying to tie him in a bag with a rabid dog to throw him in the lake.

11. *types text out in all caps* *deletes it and types in lower case* *thinks “ah, fuck it” and types it out in all caps again*

12. Carries around Uno Reverse cards in his pockets just in case. It’s actually gotten them out of some tough situations.

Monster: I’M GONNA KILL YOU!!

Leo *reaching into his tool belt*: ha!

Leo: UNO REVERSE!!

Leo: NOW WE’RE GONNA KILL YOU!!!

13. His favourite Taylor Swift song is “I can do it with a broken heart”

14. Kinda a genius at Puzzle games, videogames in general (in TLH he gets exited when he sees Beckendorf’s old bed had a gaming rig, and also canonically played Mario Party with Jason). He used to play those Lego Videogames as a kid. (He still does).

15. Also he’s the only person who can beat Annabeth at Chess. She gets SO MAD:

“It’s literally a war strategy game! How are you better than me?!”

“[Witty Chess Pun here], mi amiga.”

*Annabeth flips the board over*

16. I mean we all know that he plays with Lego, right? I like to think that’s how he designed the Argo II, by building it with Lego first.

17. Jason and Piper only find out that Leo’s real name is “Leonidas” AFTER he died. And now Jason would never get to tease him about it…

(I know Rick confirmed it wasn’t but I like it so I’m sticking with it)

18. He was actually very careful to not teach Hazel all the memes right away, and save a few for the perfect opportunity. After he told her about his plan to sacrifice himself, he goes up to her and says very solemnly “At my funeral, please- I want you to play my favourite song as you burn my shroud. It’s a beautiful song called “Never Gonna Give You Up” by a man called Rick Astley- it’s about strength and loyalty and devotion. I think if- if I don’t make it… it would be a fitting send-off.”

She falls for it SO easily, and Leo got to play a few tricks on his friends from beyond the grave.

19. I know his death was a serious matter, but you can’t tell me that Leo didn’t use it to mess with Frank and Hazel.

“Hey, Frank! Are you gonna finish that cookie?”

“Well, I was planning on-“

And then he gives him an “I’m about to die tomorrow” look and Frank just caves and gives him the cookie. Little does he know that Leo’s already scored two muffins and a chocolate bar from Hazel by pulling the exact same trick.

20. In a world where Jason survived, he also uses it to mess with him.

“Hey Leo, can you take out the trash?”

“Can’t you do it? I died to save you.”

21. When he turned 18, he actually got a “Hot stuff” tattoo just like the fake one he drew in MoA

[ingydarwp]

hiii!!!!! how did you come up for the names of the 'acts' of eoe? i think they are really cool, and if you came up with them like...all by yourself, you should be very proud.

i did come up with them by myself, so thank you sososo much!!! i’m kinda dying revising chemistry rn but this made me smile so wide 🫶🏻

‘echoes in the trees’ is a jackie and sophia reference. jackie left through the forest to try and save tiger, and then sophia ran into it and ended up saving tiger by accident. they’re echoes of each other; both running in the wrong direction through the trees.

‘rabbit refuge’ is all about the prison, so that’s the refuge part. however, the refuge is fleeting and unreliable, always one step away from escaping their grasp. basically, much like a rabbit :))

‘we walk the crossroads’ is my most basic one. it was gonna be ‘we walk the railroads’ bc it’s set after the fall of the prison, but that felt too basic, so it’s the crossroads instead!! it also follows them into alexandria, which is their cross between just survival and then actual living!!

‘skyfall’ is all just negan, and it’s named in a very literal sense. the era of the saviours destroys everything tiger ever knew. it feels like the sky is falling down around her.

‘cowboys and indians’ doesn’t really have a super strong meaning!! i wanted to include it as a title of something bc it feels childish and game-like, and rick is the cowboy, so i knew i had to fit it in somewhere. ‘cowboys and indians’ follow the period that comes after the fall of the saviours, right up until rick’s death, and i think it’s supposed to represent a fraction of calm and nothingness. then, they lose that game, that cowboy, and the era ends.

‘mourner’s mirror’/‘howling ghosts’ (i haven’t decided yet) is all of post-timeskip s9!! the entire plot of it is tiger’s memories of jackie, and a horrible argument she has with judith. jackie and judith are very parallel in very painful ways — hence the mourner’s mirror — so it’s a difficult time for her. she also is just constantly haunted by jackie in the form of judith, so that’s the howling ghosts!!

‘a miner’s canary’ is a reference to a moment from season 10. when alpha traps them in the cave, tiger is the one to navigate their way out of it, because she is small and slim and clever. however, the cave system then falls and traps her before she can escape. hence, she is the miner’s canary.

for those of you not aware of the phrase, canaries were used in mines in the 1800s to detect lethal gases. because they were smaller and weaker, they’d succumb to the gases quicker, meaning miners would realise that they were in danger and would be able to leave before they were affected. in the cave scene, but also just across the whole of east of eden, tiger is the miner’s canary. everything that goes wrong always somehow hits her ten times harder, but her presence keeps the people around her alive.

last but not least, ‘do you see me now?’ is the section of eoe that follows tiger through the dead city plot!! throughout tiger’s life, negan has constantly held power over her, but in dead city, she’s finally starting to feel in control. like she’s more than something he’s just trodden into the ground. ‘do you see me now?’ is supposed to reflect negan finally realising how badly he should be afraid of tiger, and how capable she is of destroying every part of him he has left.

[charlie-theidiot]

So, if you're into Hugh Jackman right now and if you're spending a bit too much time on tiktok watching edits (I'm not judging, I'm doing the same)

You've probably seen edits of this movie called Swordfish which came out in 2001.

And you've probably seen lots of edits on a particular scene depecting the test that Stan (Hugh Jackman) has to pass to prove how good of an hacker he is.

This test involve three things: a computer, a gun against his temple, and a non-consesual sexual act. (Whoever thought those three things could mix up well is a fool, but that's not the point).

You're probably asking yourself why I'm bothering you with this piece of information. Well, good question. This scene rather erotic was of course used in edits and lots of people love it, commenting on how Hugh Jackman looks in this scene. Which of course raised multiple questions from other people.

First, why are we all romanticizing a scene of evident rape?

Second, why are we all normalizing it?

And thirdly, and maybe more from me, why are we portraying male SA like this?

Today I'll try to answer those answers the best I can and from my point of view only.

First of all, two questions in one really, why are we normalizing and romanticizing this scene of blatant SA? Well, for me there's multiple reasons to it.

As a society we're too used to see male SA like something to joke about or to sexualize. Because they're men. They had to enjoy it, right? After all that's what all men always think about.

Wrong of course. Men are human like everyone else, and they of course think about other things than sex. And they can be victims of SA, even though they are not the majority of the victims. But since when as a society we decided to make fun or to hide a minority of victims? Anyway.

But there's an other reason why we romanticized this scene. It's the way it is portrayed of course.

When doing a movie, and I'm not teaching any of you anything, the way of filming and representing thing is a big part of the project.

If you watched this movie (for the plot, Hugh, or any reason really) you'll see that this scene is not portrayed as terrible. Yes, he is in a dangerous situation and there's stress put on him. But he doesn't look horrified. Lots of the shots are big plan on his face. And I don't want to write details but he doesn't seem terrified, or scared, or like he doesn't want it.

And I can see why it can lull the viewer in a false sense of security. Of course he's enjoying it. He doesn't look like anything else. Then it must be okay.

No. Wrong.

That's where we, and when I say we I'm talking about society and I include myself, that's where we are wrong. There is no excuse for what's happening and we should be horrified. But we're not. Because it is not portrayed as something horrible.

I haven't see the whole movie, this scene saying everything I had to know. Maybe it's a good movie, but I'm sure this scene is not talked again like a trauma or something horrendous. Once again, downplaying the horror of the situation.

That, for me at least, is why as a society we let ourself see this scene as something erotic. Especially with the way Hugh Jackman is portrayed as a big sex symbol (I could do a whole presentation on that too).

That leave us with my question, why are we portraying male SA like that?

Well, Jamie, that's a good question. I'll tell you why. It's because male SA is still a pretty sensitive and dirty subject for society. We're still not able of talking about female SA victims, so certainly not male victims.

And that vision is translated into our movies and TV shows. Most of the time, male SA is downplayed or acted as a joke or an erotic thing. And it's not always the producer's fault, it's also the public reaction to it. There's the 'Swordfish', but also Morty in 'Rick and Morty', Angel Dust in 'Hazbin Hotel', and in 'Hunger Games', and in 'Baby Reindeer'.

The list is long of male SA representation in the medias that are either now played seriously or not taken seriously. And maybe it's time we change our point of view on this matter.

To conclude, can we blame the people who made edits or enjoyed edits of this scene? I don't think we should. It is pointless, and the way the scene was made played a big role in it. It also shows that most people didn't really watch the movie and just wanted to make thirst traps, which is not something to condemn.

Thank you for reading this. I don't know if I make sense or if it's even a smart thing to say. Maybe I'm wrong or maybe I'm already saying something that was already said. In either case, thanks for reading and have a good life.

PS: I'm always open to hear always points of view. I'm not always right, and who knows maybe I'll learn a thing or two.

[ao3legendarium]

Fic Spotlight: Flighty by altar_boy

Hi! Welcome to a new segment I'm doing, in which I promote a fic I've read and truly loved on ao3!

For this first instalment, we have Flighty by altar_boy (aka @okaynowwha-t here on tumblr). This phenomenal canon-divergence fic is in the Percy Jackson & Related Media Types fandom, and centers around the relationship of Nico di Angelo and Jason Grace in a world where the Trials of Apollo series never happened.

Overall, this fic is absolutely incredible, but I would like to specifically mention the worldbuilding and OCs. Rick Riordan, author of the Percy Jackson novels and many others, already has excellent worldbuilding, but altar_boy extends that even further, introducing locations and characters that Riordan only mentioned. The fic also expands greatly on the potential of Jason's title as Pontifex Maximus, which was left criminally unexplored in canon.

Everything about this worldbuilding feels like it could fit seamlessly into canon, with no plot holes (a feat not even Riordan can claim). As for the OCs: they aren't simple filler characters, each with distinct personalities and lives outside of their interactions with the main characters, but they also don't take up too much attention. They serve a purpose in the plot and aren't boring, clichéd or stereotypical, which is better than many other authors are able to write their OCs.

I would also like to say a quick word about the sex scenes. Yes, this fic is rated explicit, with multiple sex scenes between Jason and Nico and one particularly memorable - and fateful - scene with the god Eros. (If anyone seeing this is going "but Jason and Nico are minors!" please chill, they are aged up to 20 and 22/23 in this fic and there is no underage sexual content.) I wanted to take the time to say that the first dozen or so fics I read on ao3, before I even made an account, were explicit Percy Jackson fics. I had little to no standards of what makes porn hot, so I should've been losing my mind, but I always read with more fascination than arousal. For some reason, porn with Riordan's characters never got me going the way other fandoms did. That is, until I read Flighty. altar_boy managed to not only make me dive back into a fandom I had left years ago, but accomplished something no other Percy Jackson fic had: I was absolutely combustion with horniness. Every sex scene was both smoking hot and packed with emotional significance. Truly magnificent.

Anyway, that's my glowing review of this criminally underrated fanfic. You can find the fic here:

Summary:

It's been over three years since Jason has gone missing. No explanation. No goodbye. The only way anyone knew if he was alive was through the beautifully elaborate shrines that appeared in New Rome overnight. Nico can't help but to hold onto the dying hope that they would cross paths again one day. But when that day comes, can Nico handle the answers to the questions he's held for so long?

If this fic seems like something you'd be interested in, please do check it out!

Thanks for reading this review!

[ordinaryschmuck]

What I Thought About The Owl House Pilot

Huh. Never thought I’d get to do this again, but oh well.

Salutations, random people on the internet! I’m an Ordinary Schmuck! I write stories and reviews and draw comics and cartoons.

And, above all else, I LOVE talking about The Owl House. I have an entire masterpost dedicated to talking about every single episode of the show and I’m halfway through a six-part review discussing everything that I love about it (Part Four's coming when it’s done. Let’s say…late June. Early July at the latest). I figured that after I’d finished that whole deal, I wouldn’t have anything left to talk about when it came to this series. Then, out of nowhere, the show’s original pilot leaked online…Sort of. It’s just an animatic with the show’s original voice cast voicing MOST of the lines, but it’s very much the pilot episode. It’s just not a finished product and I won’t share a link because I don’t think it’s exactly…legal. BUT I will at least share my thoughts about it because, well…Look at my blog. The Owl House has become the BIG THING that I obsess over for a reason and I love that I got to see what’s basically an alternate version of the show that I love. What do I mean?

Well, a pilot is MUCH different from a first episode. Where the first episode is meant to sell the show to the audience, a pilot is meant to sell it to a STUDIO. It can happen at any point of the story or act as the show’s first episode. Just as long as it shows off the characters, concepts, and tone, a studio can look at it, greenlight it, and allow the show to continue, BUT with some extra notes. Sometimes, those notes can change the rest of the series where others can keep the pilot good enough to stay canon. Some best examples off the top of my head are the pilots for Regular Show and Rick and Morty. You can tell that not much changed from the pilots of those shows and what was initially pitched, but there are clear changes in tone, animation, and even personality. Skips sounds a little more illiterate and Benson being more informed of the consequences of something as simple as rock, paper, scissors in the Regular Show pilot and Rick is noticeably more reckless and unprepared for situations in the Rick and Morty pilot. Nothing is set in stone with a pilot episode, even the ones that are canon. For the case of The Owl House, it’s pilot is no exception. A lot of it is just the same as “A Lying Witch and A Warden” at least in terms of plot and themes, but there are so many changes that show off what the series COULD HAVE been instead of what it was. How different? Well, let’s go through it all.

But real quick, I’m not going to do the “Like/Dislike” format I’ve done for previous reviews. Instead, I’m going to look through this pilot, note the changes it has, and share my thoughts on them. There’s also going to be a few spoilers to what happens in this pilot, so if you haven’t checked it out then I suggest giving it a watch wherever you can find it. It really is interesting to get a peak into what’s basically an alternate version of my favorite show.

With that said, let’s get into it.

Some Things Stayed the Same: Like I said, it’s basically an altered version of “A Lying Witch and A Warden.” The plot is that Eda uses Luz to get King back his “crown of power,” with some bits and pieces carrying over. Certain jokes that must have been too funny to get rid of, specific lines of dialogue that hit just the right notes, and some aspects of the characters’ personalities being just the same, proving that they're already perfect the way they are. It’s the changes, however, that makes for something more interesting. For one…

There’s More of an Emphasis on Comedy: As much as I love The Owl House, I’ll always admit that humor isn't its strong suit. It CAN be funny, really funny. But the jokes don’t land as well as something as Gravity Falls or Amphibia. I can say that a part of that could be because Dana Terrace wanted a more serious show, and we definitely get a sense of how serious it could be later in the series. Here, in the pilot, it definitely seems like there was more of an attempt to make the show comedic. King’s crown isn’t in a warden’s cell held within a magical barrier that only a human can get through. It’s in a Principal’s high school, locked in a human locker that Eda and King treat as something devious. Amity’s friends aren’t preppy mean girls who seem like they could cause conflict to Luz and her friends. They’re characters used for jokes who are amazed by Luz standing up to Lilith. There’s less of an edge and more of a lean towards cutesy fun, waiting until the very end to reveal something heavy. To me, it makes the pilot feel MORE like a Gravity Falls clone than the final product. Because while Gravity Falls has its serious moments, it makes it clear that it was a comedy first, both in the pilot and final product. Any moment of heart or drama was overshadowed by one hilarious joke after the other. Now, “A Lying Witch and A Warden” had a lot of jokes too, but there were also these moments that hinted at something more. You have the oppressive looking prison, the grand beam of light hiding human collectibles, a crazy chase from a threatening looking warden. And yes, the reveal that Warden Wrath was trying to go out with Eda was hilarious, but a warden who tortures a prisoner for speaking her truth gives a hint of how dark this world can be. Meanwhile, a principal sending a student to demon detention feels more like a joke, exaggerating how strict some principals can be.

And keep in mind, I’m not complaining about the pilot leaning more towards comedy. I actually laughed a lot more with it than I did with “A Lying Witch and A Warden.” I’m just trying to explain how the tone is definitely going for something different than the full series. It might have that darker twist in the end, but even that is nothing more than a surprise. I'll get into why later, but while it has darker implications, it doesn't detract from the fun times to be had. Not by much. From what I can gather from the pilot, it’s definitely going for a series with goofy, fun adventures with a bit of heart to it. It’s just missing that personal touch that’s in The Owl House. One good example of how?

There’s Not Even a MENTION of Camila: Before you say anything, this has nothing to do with me being Camila’s number one fan, to the point where I almost made a side-blog dedicated to her (I really should get on that, though…)

I bring up this change because Camila grounds the story in “A Lying Witch and A Warden.” She draws Luz close to reality and is the first thing that comes to Luz’s mind when in real danger, saying, “If I die, my mom will kill me!” More than that, though, Camila is the one real connection Luz has to the human realm. She has no friends nor adventures, but Luz always has Camila, with even the first episode hinting that. So when Luz starts getting herself into trouble or choosing to lie and stay in the Boiling Isles, it lets the audience get ready for the inevitable drama that could unfold when Luz finally tells Camila everything. By removing Camila, though, the anticipation of Luz telling her mom goes away with her. At least, it tells ME that there’s less of a worry about Luz basically running away from home. Either this version of the show is holding off from that for a future episode or that Luz and Camila’s relationship isn’t close enough where it matters. This is speculation, of course, but I still stand by that a sense of something personal with Luz is lost for the sake of having fun and epic fantasy adventures with entertaining characters. It’s still good and entertaining, and the pilot does offer something else that’s personal, but it’s not the same as The Owl House we all fell in love with. Though, it’s notable that our main cast stayed the same.

Luz, Eda, and King: Overall, I’d say that these three, personality wise, didn’t change much. King’s probably the least altered, being the exact same character he was in Season One aside from MAYBE having a design change (It’s hard to tell through storyboards). As for Luz and Eda, they’re more or less the same. There’s a BIG change with Eda (That I’ll get to later), but her devil-may-care attitude is very much the same, as well as her snark and soft nature towards Luz and King. It’s her magic that gets the real boost, being able to do more like teleport across the Isles and turn into a…softer version of the Owl Beast at will. It’s pretty cool to see the power that this alternate Owl Lady has. And then there’s Luz, who’s still the lovable weirdo we all know. Though, this version seems a lot more dim and I’m not really a fan. How does she mistakenly give a book report in geometry class? How did it take seeing Amity’s witch ears to realize that she belonged in the demon realm? Luz had her dumb moments in the show too, but not to this extent. There was still a sense of maturity and cognitive understanding that made Luz feel like someone that seemed weird but intelligent enough to think herself out of a situation. This Luz seems more weird and focused on using brute force on a problem. In a way, it makes Pilot!Luz more of an…emotionally driven Star Butterfly. A fun and capable character, but not the same kind I had made several posts and reviews talking about how much I love/personally connected to her. But, comparatively, I guess it IS the most minor change that could be done to this character. Now let’s move onto BIGGER changes.

The Boiling Isles: The look and feel of the Isles remains the same, but the fact that it’s more connected to the Human Realm is intriguing. From what I can tell, the Demon Realm treats traveling to the Human Realm like it’s going to a new country. You visit, make some memories, and, for some, send your children over to be a foreign exchange student of sorts. Except that racism seems to be encouraged in this regard as the demons and witches don’t see humans worth breathing the same air as them. And some think it’s more than okay to hunt down and kill if one human trespasses into their realm. And the reason for THAT is implied to be Belos’ doing. Er, I mean–*Checks the leaked pitch bible*--Emperor Pupa? Uh…I’ll just stick with Belos. 

And that’s extra fascinating to me because Belos being a witch hunter was a major twist that spoke VOLUMES of the kind of people he represents. To find out that this version is more anti-human makes me curious of what kind of angle the show would have taken. Would Belos have been your bare-bones fantasy villain or would the writers find a different way to tackle his symbolism? And is the reason why the Demon Realm is more open up to the Human Realm because he hopes witches and demons can report about their enemies for a possible invasion? There’s no way to know for sure because that version of the story will never come to be, but it’s interesting to think of all the things we COULD have gotten. The same goes for other characters.

Amity: To think, Amity was considered important enough to be included in the original pitch pilot alongside our main trio. It makes sense. Dana Terrace has gone on record in saying that Luz and Amity’s relationship was something she wanted from the get go, so it’s smart to establish it as quickly as possible. Though the route they take is definitely different. Instead of being enemies to lovers, Lumity, in the original pitch, went for the friends to lovers trope…kind of.

Luz, in this version, is someone so desperate for positive attention and respect that she latches onto the first person in school that was nice to her. Except that Amity was looking for some quiet and just so happened to look like she was supporting Luz when telling everyone to leave her alone. It was an act of kindness, but not one done in generosity. It still meant the world to Luz, though, making her go ALL IN with friendship. Only to be a little too forward and creeped Amity out to the point where she was polite enough to say “Thank you,” but you could see the desperation in her eyes to be anywhere but next to Luz. Yet Luz doesn’t see that. She’s still too focused that someone was actually nice to her that she blindly follows Amity into a new world just to return a weird looking passport. Because Amity’s Luz’s friend now and friends do nice things to each other. Only for Amity to accidentally reveal that she couldn’t care less for Luz and shatter her hopes and dreams in one fell swoop.

In a weird way, I’d say Luz and Amity are off on a better first impression here than in the original series. There’s no attempted dissections or witch’s duels. Just…Amity trying to be polite in Luz’s presence only to act like your typical mean girl when she THINKS Luz isn’t around. Tossing away the drawing is harsh for sure, but here’s the interesting thing: Amity didn’t know she was talking to Luz at that moment. She didn’t even get rid of the drawing until someone drew (haha) attention to it. If anything, it’s worth noting that Amity still kept the drawing on her. Almost like, despite being weirded out by Luz, Amity felt as though the drawing WAS cute and only got rid of it when she thought someone would question her for having it. Can’t have that Little Miss Perfect status shatter over something some human gave her.

Am I reaching as a Lumity shipper? Oh, most certainly yes. But we all know the inevitable conclusion between these two. We know where they’re headed. Dana has been pretty adamant about wanting it from the start and this pilot sets the groundwork well. Knowing where these two will end up, it’s easy to make connections and hypothesize what means what. Plus, look at the face of shock and amazement on Amity’s face when she sees Luz standing up to Lilith. That looks like a girl who’s…feeling things for this human weirdo. They’re not off to a ROARING start, but I can see how things could improve between Luz and Amity. And who knows, maybe this version of these two might end up dating sooner with how quickly they seem interested in each other. Again, am I reaching? Most definitely, but I went without any new Lumity content for over a year so LET ME REACH!

The point I’m trying to make is that this version of Amity definitely seems a lot more chill and polite at the start, even though it’s likely she still has issues of even being FRIENDS with a human. But not everyone starts off polite.

Lilith: Crazy to think that Lilith started out as…basically a one-off villain like Warden Wrath. At least, that’s what I gathered from the pilot. The pitch bible hints that there COULD be more to her, but at the same time she gets sent to a fire dimension and loses a hand. That’s one-off villain energy if I’ve ever seen it. But if she is meant to be something more, I would love to see what differences could come of her being the headmaster of Hexside instead of Bump and how she could either develop into someone better through Luz’s influence as a student or regress into someone worse as she makes Luz’s school life a living hell. Whatever could come from her, it was kind of fun seeing Lilith act as more of a threat with her…out of nowhere ability to turn into a bat monster. It’s a pretty cool design and I love that it was brought out due to Eda’s constant pestering, proving that Lilith is still the same insecure nut that I love. And it is pretty great that this pilot confirmed that Lilith really did dye her hair to look more serious. You CAN’T tell me that’s not why the Lilith we know ditched the curly red hair.

But that’s about it when it comes to changes towards characters and locations. Let’s talk about the potential differences in the ongoing story.

Luz Stays Trapped Instead of Choosing to Stay: I mean, technically she chose to stay by breaking that key for no reason, but that’s more of a consequence of not thinking things through. She didn’t NEED to break the key, Luz could have just as easily pulled it out. Instead, she kicked the dang thing, leaving herself trapped in this new world. And it’s here that I would like to once again point out how this makes Pilot!Luz different and what’s lost by not including Camila. The Luz WE know would have been more careful. She always felt like someone who fought smarter, not harder, even in that first episode. Luz didn’t fight Wrath head on, she rallied a prison riot that distracted him long enough for her to hit a firework ball into his mouth. She’s intelligent and resourceful, where this one…kind of is? It was smart to send Lilith to the fire dimension, but again, not a great plan to break the key. Plus, without Camila, this doesn’t feel like as big of a deal as it could have been. Camila was the first person in Luz’s mind as she destroyed the portal door in the Season One finale. In the pilot, with no Camila, it feels like a non-sacrifice or even that big of a deal. She’s stuck, sure, but Luz doesn’t really seem to care that much. She feels happy being with Eda and King and doesn’t seem to be in that big of a rush to get home. Plus, it’s not exactly complicated to get back. There was a whole line of portal doors in the beginning that Luz could potentially sneak through and there’s not yet an established cannon that makes it seem like getting a new key would be difficult or even complicated. Once more, it gives the impression that this version of The Owl House would be focused less on personal stakes and more like giving Luz that fantasy adventure she’s always been craving for. It would make for a fun show, but not the SAME show. However, it is worth noting that there could be some potential drama. Especially for one twist that was a JOLT to my system.

EDA WORKS FOR THE EMPEROR?!: WHAT?!

I’ll admit, I feel like the reason why this is so shocking is because of the Eda I know and the Emperor I learned to fear. I mean, Eda, the woman who would sooner eat her own fist before even CONSIDERING helping Belos, even before the witch hunter business, was originally meant to HELP him. Of all the changes that the series could have made, this was by far the biggest. Everything that I thought to be constant turned out to be a lie and I was NOT prepared for it!

But again, the reason why I got that big of a reaction is because it goes against everything I knew about Eda. If this was my first introduction to her, it’d be less of a shocking twist and more of a…hook. Like how Invincible’s first episode (Don’t watch if you’re a baby) ends with a character you THOUGHT you could trust doing this intensely dark thing. The rest of the season is leading you to figure out WHY this was done and how the other characters would react, making you want to see more as the show inevitably leads up to this big conclusion that changes everything you once knew. The same applies here, with the reveal making me wonder why Eda would do this, how long she’s been doing it, how it will affect her relationship with Luz, and whether or not it’d be an easy fix. And much like the ending of Invincible’s first episode (Seriously, NOT meant for babies), this hook makes me interested in wanting to see what comes next. Except I never will know because that came from a version of The Owl House that will never exist.

The pilot is interesting because it shows me what The Owl House COULD have been. I wouldn’t say that it’s better than what we got or even that it’s a better first impression than “A Lying Witch and A Warden.” It’s definitely FUNNIER, I’ll give it that, but it doesn’t make the original pitch better, it makes it different. Everything looks the same and sounds the same, but the overall feel of this pilot makes it something that would have had a different story, tone, and ideas on how to develop these characters. Would I have liked it? Absolutely. It seems like a fun time. But that doesn’t mean I like the show we got any less. This was more like…getting a peek into an alternate universe where a show I already love would have been vastly different. And after over a year without any new Owl House content aside from stuff that fans have made, this was a very pleasant surprise that leaves me excited for the NEW fan content that springs from all this.

But that’s enough talking about a show that could have been made. Time to get back to a series that came into existence and I still love so much. See you all then as you all milk this gift that the internet has given you.

[angelwings-crossbowstrings]

Hey there, first time anon here! I wanted to review blood ties properly, since i binged it in like a few hours some time ago (oops) and let you know that i truly believe it is a masterpiece of writing, i’m talking good enough to compete with many published novels out there. I really love how this fic dives deep into one of the most interesting (unexplored!!) eras of the group, the winter, i also adore how its developed through the quarry and farm eras (i’m so excited for the prison as well) and how the real romance develops and is strenghtened by time.

 Daryl is a really hot’n cold guy just like i imagine him being in truth, i love the romance so much and the way the relationship between Daryl and our reader is the backbone of the story as it should be, it pushes the plot fowards and even affects characters that aren’t them in funny (and sort of sad) ways, your depiction of Daryl is so authentic he’s truly amazing, a bit of a dick sometimes, and so true to canon he’s not all self loathing, he’s got a lot going on and you can tell just by the reader’s POV, that even with all his flip flopping she can read him like an open book most of the time. I’m really really looking foward to how thumper being there will affect his development from now on, we know he has a Strong sense of responsibility and so now the whole prison arc (if that is where we go next, i don’t really know, you work in mysterious ways Murda) will have a bigger impact on him beyond Merle being present, also thumper too, i’m counting on her being much like him from what we’ve seen of her during the pregnancy, very smart and perceptive, you could even say... observant, but also an absolute menace (thats what i got from all the moving around at least) and i look foward to seeing all the ways she’s going to change Daryl’s brain chemistry every day, for better or for worse she will torment every minute of his day, i hope she is a true daddy’s girl that will make Daryl pay for for his every sin on this Earth by being a brat just like he is.

Most of the reason why i didn’t really comment on it normally instead of writing this freaky text is to comment on the development of secondary characters on this fic, i think they are very Strong and all feel true to the show as well, there is one relationship i absolutely love in this fic, only second to Daryl and reader really, its Lori and reader, maybe its my nerd brain overanalyzing but they almost feel like narrative foils in this fic (or is it parallels? let us know if it is intentional or not please!!).

 I really love the interactions with Lori and reader, i’ve Always felt like she is overhated in most fics (sure she kind of messes up, but only wants the best most of the time) and here she feels really close to how it truly is in the show, and its so sad, especially contrasted with the reader. They both start in different positions/ -reader is in a very casual relationship with Daryl- Lori is commited to Rick (and somewhat casual with shane, but not really) - Reader knows the ins and outs of survival out there and is not completely vulnerable - Lori relies on the men around her for everything including emotional support, - Daryl is initially cold towards reader as usual with him - Lori has the full attention of both Rick and Shane/. But slowly the places of these two in the world are reversed, not completely but still, Reader gets sick and vulnerable, she doubts herself and her destiny in this world and needs a lot of emotional and physical support, she is no longer that huntress in the woods and needs to rely on a man ( still very Strong on her own tho, that birth scene is seared in my brain forever) and others to survive.

Meanwhile we have lori, and her journey is what it was in the show, she starts off with support from a lot of people, especially Rick and even Carl, but loses it and ends up sort of lonely and the presence o our reader only makes it more apparent, reader IS what Lori wants to be now relationships wise, her pregnancy was not all well but she had the support of Daryl most of the way, while Rick is distant, Can’t imagine what its like from  her perspective, seeing reader and Daryl together, him keeping her warm Always looking out for her, meeting her needs. Meanwhile Rick is out there doing thangs y’know, stuff. But she never resents reader for it, not visibly at least, she is a good friend who reassures and comforts her, and has to mostly make do on her own (and with Carol’s help, i imagine) and is really a wise figure during this pregnancy, i think in this fic her develpment really shows how she got to her s3 form. And yeah, i really love the interactions between them very much, it’ll be even sadder to see reader’s perspective of that day...

I also adore Carol in this fic very much, i think it shows how much of a caretaker she is in canon as well, we forget that everything she does, she does for someone else, Always looking out for others before even thinking of herself and really being the rock of this group ( a rock that can easily bash some skulls in) Also love Hershel having to stick his hands in places he wouldn’t go with a gun, bless his heart for not being mad af at Daryl in That scene, i know i would have lots of opinions about having to touch the man’s fluids y’know. He’s also a guiding light though this whole pregnancy, which is depicted in such a realistic way i’m in awe every time i think about it, things i had no idea could happen, how it really makes you feel the passage of time during this winter with both dread and wonder (especially with thumper rolling around in there, kid really is a menace) and with the birth scene, i knew Daryl would be the first to fold he was Always the weak link in that van, i’m sorry. Also sure Maggie is also coming out of the van with at least one new trauma, but she can handle it, Hershel will Always be God’s strongest soldier bless him twice. Also its really funny thinking of this whole thing on Rick’s perspective, it must all be one long ‘’TF is going on back there???Omg walkers!!!What do you mean Daryl passed out???Omg herd!! What do you mean its stuck???where am i going??!!’’.

And oh my God this ‘’review’’ is more than one Thousand words long, its time to stop i sound like a stalker, so sorry but i’m a Nerd with an overactive brain, i’m almost at the point of sending fanart attached, but yeah I REALLY REALLY love this fic like many do, i hope you receive all the love you can for it and are Always succesfull with everything you do, its really one of the best finds in modern fandom i’ve seen lately. Sorry for the mistakes, i’m not even near being good at formatting and punctuation in english lol. So yeah have a great night, we’re all really excited for the next chapter, i hope you’re also taking some time for yourself as well, its very important, Thanks for everything Murda

(PS: is it weird i forgot to talk about all the smut? Its really good, one of the best i’ve ever ready, sorry lol)<3

Okay, here we go!

This review was just… I cried. Hard. I mean, I love everyone’s reactions and replies but this just… wow.

Exploring the missing months was something I was so excited to do. Especially in this sense. To have him going through these months not just growing closer to his survival buddies, slowly finding them to be more of a family, but also exploring something we didn’t see on the show at all: being a partner and a soon-to-be father. I wanted to test those waters and see if I could stay true to who he might be had this all happened in canon.

One of my biggest concerns with every chapter is the struggle of keeping him in character while being with reader. I’m so happy that you feel like I’ve done that! The story will likely always be from reader’s prospective so to know that I am articulating what is happening with Daryl through her eyes is encouraging. I want to make sure that their struggles and victories are equally explored.

Thumper is already a daddy’s girl. She calmed when he was around, they had a connection which is 100% a thing. My daughter was slightly the opposite. She was calm and never moved much; to the point I would go to the ER to make sure she was okay. But then I found that when my sister was around, my daughter would wiggle and kick and roll. I just started calling my sister to come over if I got worried. That’s where the inspiration of having them connect like that came from.

Thumper is going to challenge both of them. I won’t say much more than that but they will definitely struggle as new, first time parents.

Merle will appear. I also won’t say much more about that.

I don’t dislike Lori. I think she made some impulsive choices to ease her pain and fear. I also think that sometimes she was more blunt or yappy than she needed to be but it came from a good place. I wanted to incorporate that, like when she wanted everyone to leave Daryl upstairs. She meant well, but spoke out of fear. Reader adores her. They had their moments but I wanted reader and her to be close, like Lori being a guide for her and just a good friend. Lori does see the changes in Daryl, really showing when she’s whispering advice to him. When she’s in the van with reader and they talk, I hope I really expressed Lori’s solemnity. Just “I’ve done this before” but you can tell that she’s carrying a burden and it’s not the baby. She’s yearning for what she’s seeing. That’s why she steps in to help. She wants to see in them what she’s missing. Yeah, that scene will be difficult.

Carol is my queen. I love her so much. She will always be the biggest cheerleader for Daryl and reader. In every story I write. Here, she wants to make sure reader had the support that she never had with Sophia. There are going to be some really deep moments that involve Carol in the next chapter. Or it may be the one after that. I also love to show Carol’s growth from the sidelines. She’s a secondary character in this series but not by much.

I honestly wish I had included more of Rick in the birth scene. Maybe I’ll do a “deleted scenes” series lol.

Omg, fanart. 🩵 @bananafire11 has done two. One for The Dixon Chronicles that was a surprise and it’s attached to the chapter. And then one for my birthday that I’m printing and hanging on my Daryl wall. I will never ask for art from my stories unless I’m going to pay for it but I will never turn it down!

This was such an inspirational review and it really allowed me to think about the way I’ve constructed this story so far (not in a bad way). I appreciate every word and I’m so so happy that the series is getting love like this. I am always so hard on myself. I’m still learning to write for myself and be glad that others like it but as a bonus and not something that defines my writing. If that makes sense.

Thank you so much for this. I hope I answered your questions and gave some insight on where my head is with certain scenes and characters.

Whoever you are, thank you. I love you. 🩵🩵🩵🩵

[tkc-fanfics-galore]

As then- now again; chapter one, part one, a death at the needle

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[Carter kane x oc fanfic]

!!DISCLAIMER: I do not own nor did I write the kane chronicles saga, everything belongs to Rick Riordan exept for my original characters, their lore and the divergient plot from the main three books. Again, the only thing i own are the changes i make to the plot!!

Also, dm me if you want to be added to the tag list :3 Taglist:@bast-the-best26

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C

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We only have a few hours, so listen carefully.

If you're hearing this, you're already in danger. Sadie, Helen and I might be your only chance.

Go to the school.

Find the locker.

I won't tell you which school, or which locker, because if you're the right person, you'll find it.

The combination is 13/32/ 33. By the time you finish listening, you'll know what the numbers mean.

Just know that the story we're about to tell you isn't completely yet.

How it ends depends on you.

Tme most important thing: when you open the package and find what's inside, don't keep longer than a week. Sure, it'll be tempting.

I mean, it will grant you almost unlimited power. But if you possess it too long, it will consume you. Learn its secrets quickly and pass it on.

Hide it for the next person, the way we did for you.

Then be prepared for your life to get very interesting.

Okay, Sadie and Helen are telling me to stop stalling and get on with the story. Fine. I guess it started in London, the night our dad blew up the British museum.

My name is Carter kane. I'm fourteen and my home is a suitcase.

You think I'm kidding? Since I was eight years old, my dad and I have travelled the world. I was born in LA but my dad's an archaeologist, so his work takes him all over.

Mostly we go to Egypt, since that's his speciality. Go to a bookstore, find a book about Egypt; there's a pretty good chance it was written by Dr. Julius kane.

You want to know how the Egyptians pulled the brains out of mummies, or built the pyramids, or cursed king tuts tomb? My dad is your man.

Of course, there are other reasons why my dad moved around so much, but i didn't know hso secret back then.

I didn't go to school, my dad home-schooled me, if you can even call it 'home'-schooling when you don't even have a home. He sort of taught me whatever he thought was important, so I learnt a lot about Egypt and basketball stats and my dad's favourite musicians.

I read alot too -pretty much anything I could get my hands on, from dad's history books to fantasy novels- because I spent alot of time sitting around in hotels and proportions and dig sites in foreign countries where i didn't know anybody.

My dad was always telling me to put the book down and play some ball. You ever try to start a game of pick up basketball in Aswan, Egypt? It's not easy.

Anyway, my dad trained me early to keep all my possessions in a single suitcase that fits in an aeroplanes overhead compartment. My dad packed the same, exept he was allowed an extra working bag for his archaeology tools.

Rule number one: I was not allowed to look into his workbag. That's a rule I never broke until the day of the explosion.

It happened on Christmas Eve. We were in London for visitation day with sadie. Well, her, and her friend helen, but more on her later.

See, dads only allowed two days of the year with sadie - one in the winter, one in the summer - because our grandparents hate him.

After our mom died, her parents (our grandparents) had this big court battle with dad. After six lawyers, two fistfights and a near attack with a spatula (don't ask), they won the right to keep sadie with them in England.

She was only six, two years younger than me, and they couldn't keep us both -at least that was their excuse for not taking me.

So sadie was raised as a British schoolkid, and I travelled around with my dad.

We only saw sadie twice a year, which was fine by me.

[Shut up Sadie- yes, im getting to that part, where was I?]

Right, Helen. She usually tagged along on visitation day.

Helen was Sadie's best friend and neighbour who usualy hung out with her. Anywhere, anytime, those two were connected by the hip.

the first time in met her, it was visitation day when I was ten, and she was nine.

Helen nervously asked our grandparents if she could tag along because her mother was working late that day, to which they and my father agreed.

I dont remember where exactly we went, but i do remember us talking about mythology and the gods, which was fun back then.

Now, it was just awful foreshadowing.

She was still my favourite part of the visitation day, and sometimes it felt like we were the siblings, not me and sadie.

So, anyway, my dad and I had just flown into Hearthrow after a couple delays. It was a drizzly, cold afternoon. The whole taxi ride into the city, my dad seemed kind of nervous.

Now, my dad is a big guy. You wouldn't think anything could make him nervous. He has dark brown skin like mine, piercing brown eyes, a bald head and a goatee, so he looks like a buff evil scientist.

That afternoon he worse his cashmere winter coat and his best brown suit, the one he used for public lectures.

Usually, he exudes so much confidence that he dominated any room he walked into, but sometimes -like that afternoon - I saw another side to that I didn't really understand.

He kept looking over his shoulder like we were being hunted.

'Dad?' I said as we were getting off the A40. 'What's wrong?'

'No sign of them,' he muttered. Then he must've realised he'd spoken aloud, because he looked at me kinda startled. 'Nothing Carter, everything is fine.'

Which bothered me because my dads a terrible liar. I always knew when he was hiding something, but i also knew no amount of pestering would get the truth out of him.

He was probrably trying to protect me, though from what I didnt know. Sometimes I wondered if he had some dark secret in his past, some old enemy following him, maybe; but the idea seemed ridiculous. Dad was just an archaeologist.

The other thing that troubled me: Dad was clutching his workbag. Usually when he does that, it means we're in danger.

Like the time gunmen stormed out hotel in Cairo. I heard shots coming from the lobby and ran downstairs to check up on my dad. By the time I got there, he was just calmly zipping up his workbag while three unconscious gunmen hung by their feet from the chandelier, their robes falling over their heads so you could see their boxershorys.

Dad claimed not to have witnessed anything, and in the end the police blamed a freak chandelier malfunction.

Another time, we got caught in a riot in Paris.

My dad found the nearest parked car, pushed me into the back seat and told me to stay down. I pressed myself against the floorboards and kept my eyes shut tight.

I could hear my dad in the driver's seat, rummaging in his bag, mumbling to himself as the mob yelled and destroyed things outside.

A few minutes later he told me it was safe to get up. Every other car had been overturned and set on fire. Our car had been freshly washed and had several twenty-euro notes had been tucked under the windshield wipers.

Anyway, I've come to respect the bag. It was our good luck charm. But when my dad kept it close, it usually meant we were going to need good luck.

We drove through the city centre, headling east towards my grandparents flat. We passed the golden gates of Buckingham palace, the big stone column in Trafalgar square. London is a pretty cool place but after you've travelled for so long, all cities start to blend together.

Other kids i meet sometimes say 'wow, you're so lucky you get to travel so much.' But it's not like we spend out time sightseeing or have a lot of money to travel in style. We've stayed in some pretty rough places, and we hardly stay anywhere longer than a few days.

Most of the time it feels like we're fugitives rather than tourists.

I mean, you wouldn't think my dads work was dangerous. He does lectured on topics like 'can egyptian magic really kill you?' and 'favorite punishments in the egyptian underworld' and other stuff that most people wouldn't care about. But, like I said, there's that other side to him.

He's always very cautious, checking every hotel room before he lets me walk into it. He'll dart into a museum, take a few notes and rush back out again as if he's afraid to be caught on the security cameras.

One time, when I was younger, we raced across the Charles de Gaulle airport to catch a last minute flight, and dad didn't relax until the plane left off the ground. I asked him point blank what he was running from, and he looked at me like I just pulled the pin out of a grenade.

For a second i was scared he might actually tell me the truth.

Then he said : 'Carter, it's nothing.' As if 'nothing' were the most terrible thing in the world.

After that, I decided maybe it was better not to ask questions.

My grandparents, the fausts, live in a housing development near canary wharf, right on the banks of the river Thames.

The taxi let us off at the curb, and my dad asked the driver to wait.

We were halfway up the walk when das frozen. He turned and looked behind us.

'What?' I asked.

Then I saw the man in the trenchcoat.

He was across the street, leaning against a big red tree. He was barrel shaped, with skin the colour of roasted coffee. His coat and black pinstriped suit looked expensive. He had long braided hair and wore a black fedora pulled down low over his dark brown glasses.

He reminded me of a jazz musician, one that dad would always drag me to in a concert.

Even though I couldn't see his eyes, I got the impression he was watching us. He might have been an old friend or colleague of dad's. No matter where we went, dad was always running into people he knew.

But it did seem strange that he was waiting here, outside my grandparents'.

And he didn't look happy.

'Carter,' my dad said 'go on ahead

'But-'

'Get your sister and Helen. I'll meet you back at the taxi.'

He crossed the street towards the man in the trenchcoat, which left me with two choices: follow my dad, and see what happens, or do what I was told.

I decided on the less dangerous path.

I went to retrieve my sister.

Before I could even knock, sadie opened the door for her and Helen.

'Late as usual,' she said.

She was holding her cat, muffin, who'd been a "going away gift" from dad six years ago.

Muffin never seemed to get older or bigger. She had fuzzy yellow and black fur like a miniature leopard, alert yellow eyes and ears that were too tall for her head. A silver egyptian pendant dangled from her collar.

She didn't look anything like a muffin, but said had been lttle when she named her, so I guess you had to cut her some slack.

They both hadn't changed much since last summer.

[As I'm recording this, Sadie's standing next to me, glaring, while helen is looking at me expectantly, so I better be careful how I describe them]

You'd never guess sadie was my sister. First of all, she'd been living in england so long, she has a British accent. Second, she takes after our mom, who was white, so sadies skin is much lighter than mine.

She has straight, caramel coloured hair, not exactly blonde but not brown, which she usualy dyes with steaks of bright colours. That day it had red streaks down the left side.

Her eyes are blue. Im serious. Blue eyes, just like our moms'.

Shes only twelve, but she's exactly as tall as me, which is really annoying. She was chewing gum as usual, dressed for her day out with dad in battered jeans, a leather jacket and combat books, like she was going to a concert and wanted to stomp on some people. She had headphones dangling from her neck just in case we bored her.

Helen however, looked so drastically the same and yet so dissimilar to my sister.

She had the same caramel hair as sadie, but her hair was curly. Only the roots and tips of her hair were dyed red. Her eyes were a shrinking prismarine green, that seemed to hypnotise anyone who stared at them too long.

Her tanned skin looked a few shades lighter in winter, but whatever season it was, she always kept that , rare, warm smile that always made people make her want to laugh, just to see it.

From what I'd heard, before her father passed, she always wore that bright smile that made her teachers awe until she was five. Her father passed, and it took several months of trust and friendship for one to see it.

I remembered her having freckles the last time we visited, but now in the winter they turned faint. Her nose was already red from the cold, and her hands were buried in the pockets of her grey hoodie.

She was thirteen , just a year younger than me, but she was just a bit shorter than me and sadie.

She smiled and waved at me, her hair shielding her face like a curtain: 'hi Carter...'

[Okay, none of them hit me, so I guess i did an okay job at describing them]

'Our plane was late' I told sadie, and nodded to helen as a greeting.

She popped a bubble, rubbed muffins head and tossed the cat inside: 'gran, were going out!'

'See you later Mrs. Faust!' Helen added.

From somewhere in the house, grandma Faust said something i couldn't make out, probably 'don't let them in!'

Sadie closed the door and regarded me as if I was a dead mouse her cat just dragged in: 'so, here you are again.'

'Yep.'

'Come on then,' she sighed. 'Let's get on with it, me and helen have a sleepover planned after this.'

That's the way she was. No "hi, how you been the last six months? So glad to see you!" or anything. But that was okay with me.

When you only see eachother twice a year, it's like you're distant cousins rather than siblings. We had absolutely nothing in common exept our parents.

'Sadie, you should be nicer to your brother...i mean, it's just one day-' I heard Helen whisper quietly to Sadie as we trudged down the steps.

Sadie cut her off with a scoff and an eye roll, gently nudging her: 'I could, but i don't have too, and If I don't have to, I won't.'

From then on, I ignored their conversation. I was thinking how sadie smelled like a combination of old people's house and bubblegum when she stopped so abruptly I ran into her.

'Who's that?' She asked.

I'd almost forgotten about the dude in the trenchcoat. He and my dad were standing across the street next to the big tree, having what looked like a serious argument. Dads back was turned, so i couldn't see his face, but he gestured with his hands like he does when he's agitated.

'Dunno,' I said. 'He was there when we pulled up.'

'He looks familiar.' Sadie frowned Luke she was trying to remember. 'Come on.'

'I think we should wait in the cab, sadie. It's probably safer' Helen gestured to my dad and the trenchcoat guy and how their argument looked like it was about to get violent.

But her words had no use. Sadie was already on the move. Instead of going straight across the street, she dashed across the sidewalk for half a block, ducking behind cars, then crossed to the opposite street and crouched under a low stone wall.

She started sneaking towards our dad. I didn't have much choice but to follow her example, even though it made me feel kind of stupid.

'Six years in England,' I muttered 'and she already thinks she's James bond'

Sadie swatted me without looking back and kept on creeping forward.

Helen followed her with a hint of reluctance and annoyance, seemingly not wanting to get into trouble.

A couple more steps and we were right behind the big dead tree. I could hear my dad on the other side , saying, '-have to, Amos. You know it's the right thing.'

'No,' said the other man, who must've been Amos. His voice was deep and even -very insistent. His accent was american. 'If I don't stop you, Julius, they will. The Per Ankh is is shadowing you.

Sadie turned to me and mouthed the words 'Per what?' while Helen counted on her fingers, trying to list all the languages she knew that could have been used.

[What do you mean you didn't do that, I literally saw you count!?- yeahh now you remember, of course... anyway-]

I shook my head, mystified. 'Let's get out of here,' I whispered, because I figured we'd be spotted any minute and get get in serious trouble. Sadie, of course, ignored me.

'They don't know my plan,' my father was saying. 'By the time they figure it out-'

'And the children?' Amos asked. The hairs stood up on the back of my neck. 'What about them?'

'I've made arrangements to protect them,' my dad said. 'Besides, if i don't do this, we're all in danger. Now, back off'

'i can't, Julius.'

'Then it's a duel you want?' Dads tone turned deadly serious. 'You could never beat me, Amos.'

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so um I've spent hours on this already, and I'm not even done with the first chapter 🙃 soo I definitely over estimated myself. So from now on, depending on how long the chapter is, it will be split to one, two or maybe even three pats, byeee yall! See u soon ;)

[spirit-meets-the-b0ne]

After the now infamous deleted GRRM blogpost it felt like a good time to bring up this rant that's been sitting in the back of my drafts for a while now. This is a long one so buckle in.

The adaptation discourse will be so much easier when the fact that an “adaptation” and “inspired by” are accepted as different things. Many of the things being argued as adaptations really end up fitting under “inspired by/based on” more than “adaptation.” The basis of the breakdown lying in “are you adapting for change in medium or are you adopting characters and worlds with new narratives and personalities?” Too often these terms are used interchangeably or amalgamated together.

Because an adaption from text to film should boil down to; okay we may not be able to show this grand explosion or wild fight so we will make it as similar in tone as possible with the right tension and have a choreographer work around our physical limitations. For example, if you tried to make a live action Naruto (which I vehemently condemn for the record) almost every single fight has to be changed because outside of overusing CGI you could simply never display the key moments of those battles. So while the resounding retort of, "aN aDapTatiOn iS nEveR gOinG tO bE a 1:1" is obvious, but that phrase is commonly being used as a blanket response to any and all criticism regardless of how valid the point is.

An inspired by on the contrary CAN deviate from the canon in ways that an adaption should not. Inspired by is categorically like what Disney did with 90s animated movies, they were inspired by myths, folktales and legends but changed to make palatable for young audiences and of course there’s subtextual references (Scar holding the skull as in Hamlet) through out. You would never call them adaptions however. A production inspired by Shakespeare (Lion King inspired by Hamlet) and an adaptation (Baz Luhrmann’s Romeo & Juliet) are inherently different because of this fundamental distinction. Because the adaptation of Romeo & Juliet kept faithfully to not only the themes in a modern setting but Luhrmann being a madman left the play's dialogue unchanged, only the setting and props suited to the new format. Which is the case in point. THAT was an adaptation.

I always come back to it but with Avatar the Last Airbender adaptations are really categorically more suited for the label of “inspired by” because an adaptation doesn’t mean “okay let’s jam 3 separate story lines into one episode” like absolutely NO. If you don’t “have the time” to explore an arc fully then YOU NEED MORE EPISODES. Sokka not wearing Kyoshi makeup and therefore changing the entire dynamic and the entire point of that plot is NOT an adaption, it was something both physically and metaphysically that could and should have happened. Changing a character and their relationships is not adaption, it’s adoption, and listen it’s okay to want to do that. It’s the foundation of fan fiction. And it’s also okay to say, I like the stories as they’re presented because I don’t have a relationship/love for the source. However, the people who do have every right to take issue with the changes, even those you enjoyed.

Whereas the inspired by category gets a lot more leniency with the plot and characters. To go back to the Disney animated films of the 90s, Hercules is one of the cases referenced most often. Of course you can’t make a Greek mythological adaption for children with today’s ratings and restrictions - that was what made them stories to inspire not adapt. It’s why what Rick Riordan did was a great effort and worked to make complex mythology accessible to kids. It’s why tumblr nerds often laugh about the portrayal of Zeus being a faithful and loving husband and Hera being the loving mother of Hercules. In that case of course you have to change those dynamics and principles for the intended audience. Or sometimes inspired by requires you to introduce a different setting and protagonist inspired by a source. Detective Pikachu for example isn’t an Ash Ketchum led live action it’s something completely separate from that universe while following most of the main principles. Similar to the “based on” film/television that might also keep some foundational material but present a new plot or different tone. Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight Trilogy is a fantastic example of this where the protagonist and antagonists are all familiar and they’re in Gotham City as fans would expect but their stories and relationships might not have been what the audience expected.

All that to be said, when a writer themselves is entering the ring to defend their work from the "adaptation" being put forth with their name on it - it is completely justifiable. GRRM isn't new to television or film, he's been doing this for decades and has worked on projects before, all of which had budgets and production teams to be considered. The other blanket response of "well THE BUDGET" is really fallible because we've seen low budget films pull off incredible results on screen. The reoccurring issue here and in the television media landscape really all doubles back to executives being the downfall. You have calculating business wads who wouldn’t know creativity if it bit them in the ass making creative choices for shows. Most of them being qualified only in business and not in media or entertainment by any other way. This is not exclusive to television we can see cases of this happening in music as well (see Sabrina Carpenters label not wanting to release “Espresso” the arguable song of the summer) when these people are more often than not dead wrong.

GRRM's main focus in the blog post was around Maelor's exclusion which was purported to be a budget/casting issue. To me this is a very fallible excuse. Mainly because, not wanting to cast another toddler when you already aged down the other children is an easy one. A. You could have had used an infant (also would have added more emotional tension in B&C if Haelena was alone holding the baby) because it's pretty easy to interchange infant actors. B. use a doll. I mean this is like elementary but seriously a swaddled baby doll and some sound fx could have been easily done. Still works for later scenes if you have the doll in a crib "sleeping" and that's me accepting a relatively lazy inclusion of Maelor. Considering there's no way to introduce him now after the explicit details of Aegon's dick being destroyed. Some of these changes or mashups of plot points are more than just budgetary issues they’re logic and continuity based issues.

My point being, the very purpose of an adaptation is to take the source material and doing what you can to present the best version of this story to the audience with the tools you are given. There are of course ways this won't mean every single line of dialogue or action is going to be followed to a t. However, if you were going to adapt a recipe let's say, to make it a vegetarian dish - you can swap out the meat for another source of protein or veggies and make the sauce/foundation of the recipe exactly as it's called for but adapt it to your palette or preference. Inspired by is when white people make shit like “lasagna tacos” where you’re like well that’s … nice I guess? But definitely not authentic. Or just ask an Italian chef if you put heavy cream in your Carbonara and watch them start foaming at the mouth.

So while I understand not everyone may agree with GRRM about his response - he is completely justified in doing so, as is anyone else critical of this adaptation. Because it barely adheres to what an adaptation is supposed to be. Some of you may not like that either but this production should have been labeled as "inspired by" or “from the world of” for a lot of reasons considering the liberties they took and omissions they executed. This goes far beyond the scope of this case but I truly applaud George for making a stand and calling out the failures of this production. If I had one more person try to tell me to basically accept shitty adaptations for the sake of them being adaptations I was going to start screaming at the sky. If you're one of the people that likes the changes to HoTD or ATLA or Witcher then god bless I'm happy you have that but the suggestion that fans of the source material are supposed to shut up and accept them is asinine. Discounting the majority of a fanbase is grossly disrespectful and dismissing their criticisms is truly unjustifiable. When an author has to throw their hat in the ring to explain this it's time to look at the bigger picture. He nailed it in a previous blog post:

it does not seem to matter whether the source material was written by Stan Lee, Charles Dickens, Ian Fleming, Roald Dahl, Ursula K. Le Guin, J.R.R. Tolkien, Mark Twain, Raymond Chandler, Jane Austen, or… well, anyone.   No matter how major a writer it is, no matter how great the book, there always seems to be someone on hand who thinks he can do better, eager to take the story and “improve” on it.   “The book is the book, the film is the film,” they will tell you, as if they were saying something profound.   Then they make the story their own. They never make it better, though.   Nine hundred ninety-nine times out of a thousand, they make it worse. (x)

Not to sound like a Boomer but making a story your own is not an adaptation. It just isn't. If you aren't clever or creative enough (*cough* Ryan C*ndal *cough*) to make an original work I personally do not see any validity in taking someone else's work and implementing your own artistic choices that fundamentally contradict the source material. Unless you want to call it something else. I have no problem with taking a concept and reinventing the story ie: Kurt Sutter basing Sons of Anarchy loosely on Hamlet or Diablo Cody's Lisa Frankenstein. I actually rather enjoy re-imagined stories whether they be parodies or more creative interpretations. Those are all well and good. Not to be mischaracterized as adaptations tho.

"Adaptations" and "inspired by" works can and should coexist but there needs to be a clear distinction to the production teams and audiences respectively.

While some people have had negative responses to George's post, on the website flooded with creators whether they make art or write, I find it rather a suspiring reaction. It's an odd position to take even if the justification is that he sold the material - how many of you wouldn't take that opportunity? Who wouldn't want a major media corporation to offer to adapt your work. Shit, I would sell my work for pennies on the dollar to see a television show produced from it. That being said, I would be devastated beyond belief if the changes that I never accepted or approved were implemented and put out there under the name of my work. So whether it be from the point of view as a fan or an author I simply cannot subscribe to the notion that disappointing adaptations are in and of themselves a compliment undeserving of criticism. Nor can I accept some of the television productions being marketed as "adaptation" when they're categorically "inspired by" in nature. If that distinction was acknowledged I could at least justify some of the changes we’ve seen and dismiss book purists as well, but as the show is purported to be an adaptation I cannot see this as a success. It fails in ways an adaptation would not, for reasons that frankly have more holes in them than Swiss cheese. George deserves better and the fans deserve better.